| Source | Date | Title | Summary of Report | Subject/Category | Page No/Web link | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Guardian Newspaper | 31st October 2022 | 2023: Economy in dire straits, OPS tells candidates go beyond rhetoric | Though presidential candidates in the forthcoming general elections have expressed commitments to addressing some of the challenges faced by Nigerians, members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) have asked the candidates to go beyond rhetoric and promises, noting that many of the manifestoes lack details and commitment as to how the candidates will address the challenges. According to them, many of the promises are generic and economical on the strategy to address problems of insecurity, inflation, poverty and the unsteady business environment. Already, Nigeria’s rising inflation is expected to worsen with the present flood, weakening naira, high energy costs and plans to remove petrol subsidy next year. Addressing these challenges is believed to help steer the country in the right direction. While the frontline candidates, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP), say they support private-sector investments and want government to focus mainly on creating a business-enabling environment, how they hope to achieve the agenda remains vague. Specifically, Peter Obi argues for a more prudent economic system, saying Nigeria has more of a spending problem than a revenue problem. According to him, Nigeria should not be borrowing for consumption, saying, “it has become imperative to restrict federal borrowings to the statutory five per cent of the previous year’s revenue.” On petrol subsidy, he said: “Yes, I will remove fuel subsidy, but I have to offer an equivalence that will benefit citizens. But if that is not achievable, I will not remove it.” Tinubu supports an economic model that involves public-private partnerships and concessions. Tinubu said his administration would focus on fiscal issues and stricter tax enforcement. New taxes could be introduced and stiffer penalties put in place for defaulters. PDP’s Atiku also promised to incentivise the economy with regulations and tax incentives for a consortium of private sector institutions to establish an infrastructure debt fund of an initial carrying capacity of $20 billion. According to him, this will be for the financing and delivery of large infrastructure projects across all sectors of the economy. But former Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr Muda Yusuf, told The Guardian that the candidates need to do better than the campaign promises, adding that the reality of governance is overwhelming and defies certain economic theories. | Organised Private Sector, OPS, Campaign promises | Page 1 & 6 | |
| The Guardian Newspaper | 31st October 2022 | Wike dares Ayu to bar Ortom, other PDP candidates from 2023 elections | Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, has dared National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Iyorchia Ayu, to stop Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, and other party candidates from contesting the 2023 elections. Wike threw the challenge few hours after Ayu threatened he has power to stop Ortom from realising his senatorial ambition on the PDP platform. Speaking at his private residence in Rumuepirikom Community in Obio-Akpor Council, yesterday, Wike said: “I want to dare Ayu to stop any PDP candidate. He knows he has no power, and he cannot do that. He is just playing to the gallery. “I dare him to stop any contestant, if he has what it takes. It’s only in this country a man who is perceived as very corrupt will not care. Look at what happened in Britain.” Wike said Ortom took a risk by helping Ayu rise to his current position and expressed surprise that the PDP chairman could turn around to attack the Benue governor. He said: “I heard when he (Ayu) said he would have stopped Ortom from running. See how ungrateful human beings are. This was the same Governor Ortom that pleaded and supported him"". Ortom said, ‘I can take the risk; let him (Ayu) become the national chairman.’ Now, he wants to stop the man who brought him to power, who guaranteed him. He now says he can stop him. That is the corruption we are talking about. | Nyesom Wike, PDP Crisis, Iyorchia Ayu | Page 3 | |
| Daily Trust Newspaper | 31st October 2022 | Publish Your Campaign Funding Sources, SERAP Tells Atiku, Tinubu, Others | The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked political parties’ presidential candidates to publish the sources of their campaign funding. SERAP, in a statement by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said transparency would help to control inappropriate influence on political candidates, ensure fairness, equality, and accountability in Nigeria’s democracy. It said, “If Nigerians know where the money is coming from, they can scrutinise the details, and hold to account the candidate and party that receive it. SERAP would consider appropriate legal actions to hold you and your political party to account for any infractions of the requirements of campaign funding, as provided for by the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], the Electoral Act and international standards, even after the 2023 elections. SERAP urges you to sign ‘transparency pacts’ that would mandate you to disclose the identities of donors and widely publish donations and contributions including on your party website and social media platforms.” | SERAP, Campaign finance, Request for Presidential Candidates to publish campaign finance | Page 33 | |
| Leadership Online | 31st October 2022 | Borno PDP Petitions DSS, NSA, Police, Alleges Threat To Peace By APC | The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Borno State has raised the alarm over alleged plot by the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to breach the peace and security in the state. The allegations are contained in a petition sent by the Borno State chapter of the PDP to the national security adviser (NSA), Maj Gen Babagana Monguno (rtd); director general of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Magaji Bichi, and the inspector general of police (IG), Usman Alkali Baba. The opposition party made reference to two viral videos on the social media in which chairman of the APC in Borno State, Ali Bukar Dalori, and a member of the state House of Assembly representing Nganzai local government area, Mohammed Gajiram, allegedly threatened that APC must win all their elections even if it means killing and burying people in holes. The chairman of the Borno PDP, Alhaji Zanna Gaddama, said the petition became necessary because the people of the state are tired of impunity and irresponsible leadership of the APC government. Noting that the APC in Borno is disturbed because the people now consider the PDP as the credible alternative, he implored the security agencies to take decisive action against those calling for violence in Borno State. Gaddama noted that while all hands are on deck by both leadership and members of the PDP to end poverty, hardship and insecurity caused by bad governance in Borno State, some people within the state APC are making frantic moves to take the state back to the dark days of terror. | Borno PDP, Petition, Alleged threat to Peace | https://bit.ly/3TWEA6H | |
| Daily Trust Newspaper | 31st October 2022 | APC Will Shock Atiku In Adamawa — Youth Leader | The National Youth Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dayo Israel, has expressed confidence that the party will win in Adamawa State, the country home of PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. Israel spoke at the party’s secretariat in Yola, Adamawa State, after receiving hundreds of defectors who dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the APC. He said the defection signaled the beginning of APC’s ascendancy in the state which would see the party not only secure the majority of votes during the presidential election in February, 2023, but also claim the governorship position presently held by the PDP. He said, “Adamawa State will be a major chapter in the story of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s emergence as the next President of Nigeria in 2023. “It will be said of him that his popularity was so great, and his victory so total, that even the home state of his major contender deemed him better deserving of the nation’s highest office, and rightly so. Because of you, your efforts, and Asiwaju’s many great plans for the people of Adamawa, I know that we will flip this state next year.” | Adamawa State APC Youth Leader, Dayo Isreal, Defectors, PDP to APC | Page 32 | |
| This Day Newspaper | 31st October 2022 | Atiku Mocks APC, Says Ruling Party Can’t Campaign on Issues | Presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, yesterday, mocked the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), saying the party cannot campaign on issues because it had nothing to campaign with. Atiku, in a statement, said APC, having ruined the economy, and with increased level of insecurity in the country, had no issues-based campaign to bank on. He called on Nigerians to mobilise ahead of the presidential election to vote out APC for the pain it had caused them as well as the insecurity the administration had brought upon the country. According to the former vice president, “It means that we have to rev up our mobilisation and multiply our support base. The APC is desperate to hold on to power, even as you and I know that they have failed woefully. The glaring failures of the APC are the reason they can’t campaign on issues that affect you and I. We must throw them out and make a statement that this democracy works for the people of this country. To make that emphatic statement, let me ask that in this coming November, you mobilise new members to our camp. We must multiply our base in November. When the PDP wins the presidency, with a majority in the National Assembly and across the states in February, we would have cast an umbrella of prosperity and peace that covers everyone.” Meanwhile, one of the spokespersons of the Atiku/Okowa presidential campaign, Kola Ologbondiyan, assured that Atiku’s foreign engagements would yield unprecedented investment inflow, revamp the productive sector, and create massive jobs for the youth immediately he assumes office in May 29, 2023. | Atiku Abubakar, Campaigns | Page 12 | |
| This Day Newspaper | 31st October 2022 | Tinubu: Buhari Declined to Nominate My Running Mate | Presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, stated yesterday in Akure that he had conceded to President Muhammadu Buhari the honour to nominate his running mate, but the president declined. The statement confirmed for the first time speculations that made the rounds about the choice of the ruling party’s vice presidential candidate. Tinubu, who spoke at the residence of a former leader of Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, also disclosed that he had doubted whether he would clinch the presidential ticket of the ruling party at a time when the battle became tough. The former Lagos State governor said Buhari and the APC northern governors proved to him that Nigeria would survive the challenges to its unity. However, there seemed to be a division in the ranks of Afenifere, as Pa Fasoranti and some Yoruba leaders publicly endorsed Tinubu for reasons of his political antecedents, but acting leader of the group, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, described the Akure declaration as diversionary. The APC presidential candidate said he had come to fulfil his promise and asked the Yoruba leaders to thank Buhari and the northern governors for their steadfastness and for being promise-keepers. General Secretary of Afenifere, Chief Seinde Arogbofa, while welcoming Tinubu and his entourage, charged the APC candidate to be a leader that would unite Nigeria and work for the progress and development of the whole country. On his part, Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who received Tinubu and his delegation on behalf of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, said the people of Ondo State were Afenifere and would support Tinubu to win. “Asiwaju has the reach, the competence to lead Nigeria,” Aiyedatiwa said. Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji, in his remarks, assured the Yoruba leaders that all the governors of the South-west and Ekiti people were solidly behind Tinubu. Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, and the former Afenifere leader charged the APC presidential standard bearer to work to fix the economy. Falae decried the falling value of the Naira, adding that he used all his life to serve Nigeria and at his old age, and did not want all he used his life for to be wasted. | Bola Tinubu, Campaign | Page 1 & 5 | |
| The Guardian Newspaper | 28th October 2022 | Naira redesign: CNPP lauds plan as EFCC talks tough on vote buying | Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for its decision to redesign the country’s currency denominations ahead of the 2023 general elections, adding that only vote buyers will criticise the plan. CNPP, in a statement by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, yesterday, said antagonists of the initiative would consist of politicians that intend to buy votes and financially induce electoral officials, persons that are ignorant of the importance of the policy, and beneficiaries of the proceeds of crimes, including drug barons and kidnappers. CNPP said: “The effort by the CBN to control the amount of money in circulation – where N2.7 trillion out of N3.3 trillion in circulation is said to be outside the vault of commercial banks – poses a high risk for the country’s economy and its internal security. “It is obvious that many politicians, especially since 2015, amassed illicit wealth and depleted the commonwealth, to the extent that the currency in circulation has more than doubled since 2015, rising from N1.46 trillion in December 2015 to N3.2 trillion as of September 2022, according to CBN data. Certainly, this is unacceptable in any economy controlled by sane financial experts.”It added: “The CNPP is glad that the timing of this naira notes redesign is right, as there is no better time than in an election year, especially where politicians have made vote buying an alternative to convincing the electorate through their track record and capacity to govern.” Meanwhile, Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, has warned politicians to desist from vote buying, stressing that the anti-graft agency will continue to monitor elections, with a view to arresting offenders. He spoke to journalists at the National Assembly after defending the commission’s 2023 budget proposal. Bawa said: “We will continue to arrest those who specialise in vote buying. We will work hand in glove with Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to achieve that. We will ensure that illegitimate funds do not find their way into our elections.” | EFCC, Vote Buying, CNPP, Conference of Nigeria Political Parties, Redesign of Naira | Page 3 | |
| This Day Newspaper | 28th October 2022 | Democracy Under Threat in Taraba, APC Lawmaker Alleges | The APC Senatorial Candidate for the Taraba South Senatorial District of Taraba State , Hon Danjuma Shidi, yesterday alleged that democracy was under threat over what he described as “ high-handedness in the latest political development in state”. Shidi, who is currently representing Wukari/Ibi Federal constituency of the State in the National Assembly, stressed that if nothing is not done urgently to address the urgly political development in the state, democracy would be history in Taraba State. He alleged that in the ongoing politics of bitterness under the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) controlled state, the Director-General of his Campaign Organisation, Hon Sumaila Yakubu was brutally abducted by state security agents on trumped-up charges of inciting members of the public to go violent. “Hon Sumaila, the DG of my campaign organisation was whisked away in a commando-style operation on Monday by a combined team of Security operatives led by the personnel of the Nigeria Police Force. He was severely beaten up with wounds all over his body, stripped naked before being whisked to detention where he still remains till now,” he said. According to the lawmaker, “The trumped-up charges cannot be farther from the truth as there were even video recordings of the victim placating the people not to resort to violence over in the political happenings in Taraba, but allow peace to reign to smoothen out frayed nerves. When the case came up at the State High Court Thursday(yesterday), an almost impossible bail condition consisting of a reputable state indigene worth N50 million, two first class- chiefs, and two top civil servants of permanent secretary grade to all stand surety for the detained Hon Sumaila before he could be released,” he said. He explained that all necessary legal options were already being taken to effect the release of the DG of his campaign organisation, and that the APC at the national level was being kept abreast of the development. “If not nipped in the bud, the politics of high-handedness being played by the PDP controlled Taraba State Government led by Gov. Darius Ishaku, has the tendency to derail democracy and make the state to boil.” | APC Senatorial Candidate for Taraba South Senatorial District of Taraba State , Hon Danjuma Shidi, Taraba State, allegations | Page 51 | |
| This Day Newspaper | 28th October 2022 | APC PCC to Akintoye: Your Statement Misdirected, Divisive | The Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the statement credited to the leader of the Yoruba Nation Self-Determination Struggle, Prof. Banji Akintoye as misdirected, misplaced and divisive. Akintoye had earlier in a statement said that the presidential candidate of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s ambition was premised on “personal interest” and not of the Yoruba people. But reacting, the Director of Media and Publicity, Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga said APC found it quite preposterous the professor’s sweeping accusation that Tinubu was only pursuing his personal interest in running for the presidency of Nigeria. He described the statement as malicious and unwarranted. Onanuga noted that Tinubu was contesting for Nigeria’s presidency because of his readiness to render unflinching service to Nigerians and because of his abiding faith in a strong, united and prosperous Nigeria where every man and woman, regardless of their ethnicity and religious beliefs, can be proud and prosperous. He said: “Our attention has been drawn to an unfortunate, misdirected, misplaced and divisive statement credited to Professor Banji Akintoye, in which his group threatened to pull the South West out of Nigeria. To be candid, there are several agitation groups in the South West and in other parts of Nigeria who wrongly think the best way to demand for justice and fairness is through break-up of our country. And since there has been no referendum held in Yorubaland about whether to stay in Nigeria or not and no such referendum has been held in any part of Nigeria, it is then appropriate to assume that this separatist idea is basically Akintoye and his group’s sole idea. We join other bona-fide and critical stakeholders in Yorubaland to advise Professor Akintoye not to plunge our people into a needless and precipitate crisis or create another Rwanda.” | APC Presidential Campaign Council, Prof. Banji Akintoye, Statement | Page 52 | |
| Daily Trust Newspaper | 28th October 2022 | 2023: Buhari Seeks Prayers, Peaceful Transition, Says Nigeria Set For Elections | President Muhammadu Buhari says preparations for the 2023 national elections are in active stages. He said this yesterday in Seoul, Republic of Korea during an interactive meeting with the leadership and select members of the Nigerian Community as part of his engagements at the end of the First World Bio Summit 2022. He sought their “prayers and support to enable us transit peacefully to the next administration and deepen the democratic processes in Nigeria. He expressed delight that the “outcomes of the last four off-season elections have left us with great optimism for better conducted and acceptable 2023 elections.” Speaking during his meeting with the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Kim Jin-Pyo, on the sidelines of the World Bio Summit 2022, Buhari said the successes achieved in the recent off-season elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun States, confirmed that the people of Nigeria had approved the democratic form of government. He said: “We’re proud that our patriotic people are given the right to choose who will govern and represent them in the various legislative houses at state and federal levels.” He reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to stabilising the country’s democratic system. Buhari, who recalled his political journey dotted with several attempts and court cases to clinch the Presidency, praised the introduction of technology, especially the use of Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) for his eventual success at the polls. He noted that the diversities introduced by the colonial history of Nigeria, unlike in Korea, had not made governance easy. | President Muhammadu Buhari, 2023 General Elections, Call for peaceful elections | Page 4 | |
| Daily Trust Newspaper | 28th October 2022 | 2023 Polls: No Excuse For Failure – INEC | The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday said there will be no excuse for not delivering free, fair and credible next year. INEC’s Administrative Secretary in Anambra State, Mr. Jude Okwuonu, disclosed this during a one-day voter education and sensitisation workshop for media practitioners in Awka, the state’s capital. “I want to assure the doubting Thomases in the Nigeria political space that every aspect of preparations at ensuring the success of next year’s elections is in place,” he said. He said with the passage of the 2022 Electoral Act by the National Assembly and the digital or electronic innovations introduced by the commission, INEC was ready to conduct the general elections. He tasked the media to educate the electorate to participate actively in the historic elections. The Head, Department of Information Communication Technology and Voters Registration, Mr Emeka Nnaji, said the INEC’s electronic devices are not susceptible to hacking. “We are using a cloud system in our devices, which is the most efficient and reliable saving system. “It has firewalls, which makes any information being transmitted through it only valuable until it gets to the intended receiver,” he said. Head of Voter Education and Publicity, (VEP,) Barr George Edeani, harped on the need for media partnership with the INEC for the success of the general elections. He specifically tasked the media practitioners to assist the commission to mobilise voters, monitoring violators of electoral laws, and expose them, as well as setting agenda for the commission and parties towards making the election free, fair and credible. | INEC, INEC’s Administrative Secretary in Anambra State, Mr. Jude Okwuonu, Electronic Device, BVAS | Page 30 | |
| Daily Trust Newspaper | 28th October 2022 | Police Arrest Man With 101 PVCs In Sokoto | The Sokoto State Police Command has arrested one Nasiru Idris of Sabon Birni Local Government Area with 101 permanent voter cards (PVCs). Briefing newsmen on Thursday, the Commissioner of Police, Hussain Gumel, said the suspect was arrested in Sabon Birni on October 10, following credible information. He added that the suspect could not give account of how he got the PVCs. “It is envisaged that owners of these cards are not only from Sabon Birni local government but could be from other parts of the state because we could not trace the rightful owners of the PVCs,” he said. He, however, called on the public, especially whose cards were either missing or misplaced to come to the command headquarters and check. The CP said the police would return all the unclaimed cards to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after one month. | PVCs, Illegal Possession of PVCs, Sokoto State, iNEC | Page 37 | |
| Daily Post Online | 28th October 2022 | 2023: APC chieftains pressurising INEC Chairman against electronic transmission of results — Buba Galadima | A member of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, Buba Galadima, has accused some chieftains of the All Progressives Congress, APC, of pressurizing the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, to tamper with the Electoral Law, ahead of the 2023 elections. Galadima said APC chieftains are pressuring Yakubu to shun election results’ electronic upload. Speaking with Channels Television, Galadima said Yakubu was under pressure not to use the Bimodal Voter Registration System, BVAS, to transmit results in 2023. He said APC chieftains are pressurizing the INEC Chairman to write the National Assembly on the need to ignore BVAS during the 2023 elections. Galadima also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to take cognizance of APC members trying to smear his image after he leaves office. According to Galadima: “INEC chairman is under extensive pressure to tamper with the Electoral Act because the ruling party wanted to table an issue before the National Assembly such that they will force the Chairman to write to National Assembly that it should not be compelling INEC to use the BVAS machine and this is the greatest disservice and an unpatriotic thing some elements in the ruling party are trying to put forward. “They want to amend the Electoral Act, therefore, I want the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to take note of some bad elements that want to smear his image when he leaves office.” Galadima also reiterated that the NNPP’s presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, would emerge victorious in 2023. He pointed out that Kwankwaso has one of the largest supporters among other presidential candidates. | NNPP, Buba Galadima, INEC, BVAS, Allegations, Buba Galadima, Electronic Transmission of Results | https://bit.ly/3NeqrPD | |
| This Day Newspaper | 27th October 2022 | In Ambush of Vote Buyers, Ransom Takers, CBN Voids Naira Notes by End of January | In an apparent move to tackle vote-buying and control the amount of money in circulation, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday announced a redesign of the currency in the variation of N200, N500 and N1,000. But beyond the reasons adduced are the far-reaching implications of the effects of the dramatic move that took the business community and the entire nation by surprise. Campaign financing, money laundering, terror financing, payment of huge sums of monies to kidnappers as ransom are going to be adversely affected by the change. For once, those who have starched huge cash ahead of the 2023 elections for vote-buying and prosecution of their campaigns would be forced to bring those cash out and many of them would be forced to explain how they came about the monies to security operatives. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has already signalled its intention to move against currency hoarders who maybe forced to bring out their huge stash of cash into the banks. CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, who disclosed the resolve by the apex bank to redesign the banknotes at a media briefing in Abuja, said the redesigning of the notes would affect the N200, N500, and N1, 000 denominations. This was just as the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, applauded the move by the CBN, describing it as “a well-considered and timely response” to the challenge of currency management, which had negatively impacted the country’s monetary policy and security imperatives. Emefiele, who pointed out that the change was sequel to the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari, said circulation of the new banknotes would commence on December 15, 2022. He said the development was also aimed at checking the increasing ease and risk of currency counterfeiting evidenced by several security reports, and the increased risk to financial stability as well as the worsening shortage of clean and fit currency, with the attendant negative perception of the central bank. Emefiele said there was significant hoarding of naira notes by members of the public, with statistics showing that over 80 per cent of the currency in circulation were outside the vaults of the commercial banks. He said as of September 2022, a total of N3.2 trillion was in circulation, of which N2.73 trillion was outside the vaults of the banks, describing the development as unacceptable. Although, to maintain healthy currency regime, central banks are required to redesign, produce, and circulate new local legal tender every five to eight years, the naira has not been redesigned in the last 20 years. On February 28, 2007, as part of economic reforms, N20 was issued for the first time in polymer substrate, while the N50, N10 and N5 banknotes; as well as N1 and 50 kobo coins were reissued in new designs, and the N2 coin was introduced. Also, on September 30, 2009, the redesigned N50, N10 and N5 banknotes were converted to polymer substrate following the successful performance of the N20 (polymer) banknote. Finally, the CBN, as part of its contribution towards the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Nigeria’s Independence and 100 years of its existence as a nation, had issued the N50 Commemorative polymer banknote on September 29, 2010; and the N100 Commemorative banknote on December 19, 2014. Emefiele explained that the new and existing notes would remain legal tender and circulate together until January 31, 2023, when the existing currencies shall seize to be legal tender. | Voter buyers, Naira Notes, Redesign of Naira: 200, 500, 1,000 Naira notes | Page 1 & 47 | |
| Punch Online | 27th October 2022 | 2023: Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Rivers voters top INEC register | The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Wednesday, announced that the voter register had swollen up to 93.5m. Analysis of the preliminary register reveals that Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Rivers, Katsina and Oyo states have the highest number of registered voters. A breakdown indicates that Lagos has 7.57 per cent; Kano, 6.34 per cent; Kaduna, 4.65 per cent; Rivers, 3.77 per cent; Katsina, 3.76 per cent and Oyo 3.51 per cent. Checks by The PUNCH indicate that voters in the six states constitute 27.68m or 29.59 per cent of the entire registered voters. According to the preliminary voter register, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna and Rivers states lead with 7,075,192; 5,927,565; 4,345,469 and 3,532,990, respectively. They are followed by Katsina with 3,519,260 and Oyo, with 3,275,045. Further analysis also revealed that the North-West geopolitical zone, which comprises the seven states of Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara and Jigawa, with a total of 22.27m voters, has the highest number of registered voters. Following in third place is the South-South zone comprising Akwa-Ibom, Rivers, Cross-River, Bayelsa, Edo and Delta states. The number of registered voters in the zone has risen from 12.8m to 14.4m. The North-Central, which is made up of Nasarawa, Kogi, Benue, Niger Kwara, and Plateau now has a total of 13.8m voters while the North- East which consists of Yobe, Borno, Taraba, Adamawa, Bauchi and Gombe added 1.07m new voters to reach 12.5m. The South-East, which is the smallest geopolitical zone, and consists of five states — Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia, Anambra and Imo now has a total of 10.9m voters while the Federal Capital Territory increased from 1.3m to 1.5m registered voters. Lagos maintained its position as the state with the highest number of registered voters, increasing its figure from 6.5m to 7.07m. Kano State also added 469,818 new voters to increase its number to 5.9m voters. Kaduna now has 4.3m voters while Rivers state overtook Katsina as the fourth largest state in terms of voters. While Rivers now has 3.53m voters, Katsina has 3.51m. | Registered Voters, INEC | https://bit.ly/3gLH0Xh | |
| Nation Online | 27th October 2022 | PDP crisis: Ortom attacks Atiku as Mimiko rejects job | The rift between Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar and Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom escalated yesterday. The governor said the former vice president should apologise for lying against him. He said Atiku should apologise to him publicly for alleging that his people were stealing herdsmen’s cattle in Benue. The governor said Atiku’s private apology to him was inadequate. Ortom maintained that he cannot mobilise support for the PDP candidate because of their irreconcilable differences. Also, former Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko rejected the offer of PDP Presidential Campaign Coordinator for Ondo State, saying that he cannot abandon Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike and other chieftains calling for the choice of a national chairman from the South. Ortom spoke while receiving Jemgbah youths under the aegis of ‘Jemgbah Youth Support Group (JYSG), in the Government House, Makurdi, the state capital. Mimiko was named leader of the Ondo PDP Presidential Campaign Council. The Council would be inaugurated tomorrow. But Mimiko, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Digital Communications, John Paul Akinduro, said he was inundated with calls and messages from political associate on whether he has abandoned Wike, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and their colleague governors. Mimiko who described it as fake news said he has not abandoned the agitation for equity in the PDP, and in particular, the quest for national chairman from the South. | Samuel Ortom, Olusegun Mimiko, PDP Crisis | https://bit.ly/3N814z7 | |
| This Day Newspaper | 27th October 2022 | Atiku Takes Presidential Campaign to United States | The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar yesterday left Nigeria for political campaigns in the United States of America. In 2018, amidst talks that he cannot visit the US, Atiku had in company of the former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and others visited the US. The visit to the US was significant as it would dismiss all doubts that Atiku cannot travel to the US, a source said. According to sources, Atiku is commencing a weeklong electioneering campaign in the US, where he would be meeting Nigerians and business community during the visit. As part of his programmes and engagements while in the US, he would be meeting with Nigerians in Diaspora as well as with PDP members in North America. He would also meet with top Nigerian business leaders based in the US and later meet with young Nigerian professionals in the Diaspora, among other meeting with some business community. All efforts to speak with his media advisor, Paul Ibe was abortive as his phone was not reachable. Atiku had three week ago flagged off his electioneering campaign in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state. It was followed with the Kaduna campaign and last Saturday had another campaign in Benin, Edo state. | Campaign, Atiku Abubakar | Page 50 | |
| Daily Post Online | 27th October 2022 | Disqualification of C’River Senatorial candidate: LP seeks stay-of-execution, files appeal | The Labour Party has applied to the Federal High Court in Abuja for stay of execution of the judgement which disqualified their candidate for Cross River Southern Senatorial district, Mr Daniel Asuquo. The party in a statement signed by its State chairman, Ambassador Ogar Osim and released Wednesday evening, said they were ready to proceed to the Appeal Court to appeal the High Court judgement. Hon Daniel Asuquo, popularly known as Dansuki, represented the Akamkpa/Biase federal constituency in the House of Representatives for 12 years. Justice A.R. Muhammed presided over the court which nullified the primaries conducted in Calabar by the Labour Party for the Cross River State Southern Senatorial District. The court disqualified Asuquo and ordered his immediate delisting as a candidate by the Independent National Electoral Commission. Former commissioner for finance in the State, Asuquo Ekpenyong jnr., who is the APC candidate for the same senatorial seat, had dragged the LP candidate to court over allegation that the LP did not follow due process in conducting the senatorial primary. Reacting, Osim disagreed with the High Court judgement, arguing that they complied with all the requirements and processes. He explained that, “Asuquo duly resigned from his former party. His resignation letter was duly published and widely circulated. “He formally approached our party and formally registered at his local ward in line with the party’s constitution. I also want to confirm that our party also followed due process in the conduct of the primary election which produced Hon Daniel Asuquo as our candidate for the Cross River Southern Senatorial District election.” According to the LP chairman, the security agencies, INEC officials and party dignitaries from the national headquarters were present during the primary election. He asserted that co-contenders from other parties for the Senatorial seat were scared of the popularity of their candidate who has spent 12 years in the green chambers, representing the Akamkpa/Biase federal constituency. | Cross River State, Disqualification of CRS LP Senatorial Candidate, Daniel Asuquo | https://bit.ly/3FCOBSr | |
| Vanguard Online | 27th October 2022 | Some INEC officials tried to enrol fake voters 40 times — Yakubu | For engaging in multiple registrations of voters during the last voters’ listing exercise, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has commenced the in-house sanctioning of 23 officials. The records of the commission showed that some of the 23 officials attempted to register some fake voters 40 times, INEC National Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed yesterday during the third quarterly meeting with political parties, in Abuja. Ahead of next year’s general election, the electoral umpire also declared that no fewer than 93.5 million Nigerians are eligible to participate in the exercise as voters, noting that 12.29 million Nigerians successfully completed their registrations as new voters in the just concluded Continuous Voter Registration CVR. Yakubu added that after a rigorous clean-up of the data using the Automated Biometric Identification System, ABIS, over 2.78 million were identified and removed as ineligible registrants. Consequently, he said the commission has identified 23 of its registration officers for severe sanctions having attempted to engage in multiple registrations of Nigerians. Yakubu’s disclosures came as the Inter-Party Advisory Council IPAC passed a vote of confidence on him for his innovations to reshape the electoral process. Speaking at the meeting, the INEC chairman said: “The Commission deployed thousands of diligent staff for the CVR exercise and the vast majority of them discharged their duties conscientiously. Unfortunately, a few of them did not. The fictitious registrations were carried out by some of our Registration Officers involved in the field exercise and could easily be traced. Each registration machine is operated using an access code tied to a dedicated e-mail assigned to staff. “There is therefore an audit trail that gives the total number of persons registered by each official involved in the registration exercise. In some cases, some of them made as many as 40 attempts or more to register one fake voter. As a result, the Commission has so far identified 23 Registration Officers involved in this unethical conduct and disciplinary action has commenced. We shall continue to protect the integrity of our voters’ registers. It is pivotal to credible elections. It is also a national asset and easily the largest database of citizens in Africa and one of the largest in the world.” | 23 INEC Officials to be sanctioned, Enrollment of fake voters, Yakubu Mahmood | https://bit.ly/3DcYdAf | |
| Daily Independent | 27th October 2022 | Delta 2023: We’re Ready To Deliver Omo-Agege As Governor – Ojuma | Chief Godday Ojuma, a Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) from Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State has averred that they will deliver the Deputy Senate President as the Governor of Delta State and Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu as Presídent Come 2023. Chief Ojuma, a staunch APC faithful who spoke at Asaba during the inauguration of the Omo-Agege Campaign Council stated that the coast is clear for Omo-Agege to cruise to victory as they are ready to do everything humanly possible to deliver DSP as Governor to liberate Deltans from the pangs of poverty and penury. Ojuma while commenting on the pedigree of DSP and his Political dexterity said, ” Our Principal, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege is a well-positioned grass root politician who is tested and trusted based on his superlative performance as he uses the instrument of his good office as the DSP to infuence development to the South-South, particularly Delta State.” Speaking further, Chiéf Ojuma emphasized that the absence of APC counsellors, Members of the State House of Assembly etc is not a threat valid enough to scuttle the gubernatorial Ambition of Ovie Omo-Agege the Political bulldozer. | Godday Ojuma, Omo Agege, APC Delta State Governorship Candidate, Campaign | https://bit.ly/3FCMeiv | |
| Leadership Online | 26th October 2022 | INEC Fixes Bayelsa, Imo, Kogi Gov’ship Polls For Nov 11, 2023 | Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed Saturday, November 11, 2023, for the conduct of Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi States’ governorship elections. In a statement issued yesterday in Abuja by INEC national commissioner and chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, he said the tenure of the incumbent governor of Imo State ends on 14th January, 2024 while those of Kogi and Bayelsa States end on 26th January, 2024 and 13th February, 2024 respectively. Okoye said at its weekly meeting held Tuesday, the commission approved the timetable and schedule of activities for the governorship elections. He said the decision was in fulfillment of the requirement of Section 28(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 which mandates INEC to publish the notice of election not later than 360 days before the date fixed for the election proper. “Similarly, Sections 178(1) and (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 mandates the commission to conduct such elections not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of the term of the last holder of the office. Accordingly, the commission has decided to conduct the three elections on Saturday, 11th November, 2023,” Okoye said. He added that the statutory notice for the elections would be published in the three states on 14th November, 2022. Okoye also said that party primaries will be held from 27th March to 17th April, 2023 while the online portal for the submission of nomination forms (EC9 and EC9B) by political parties opens at 9.00am on 24th April, 2023 and closes at 6.00pm on 5th May, 2023. He said, “The final list of candidates will be published on 9th June, 2023 while campaign by political parties commences on 14th June, 2023 and ends at midnight on 9th November, 2023.” | INEC, Date for Governorship Election in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi States, 11th November 2023 | https://bit.ly/3D8hrac | |
| Vanguard Online | 26th October 2022 | Court nullifies Rivers APC primaries, de-recognises all candidates | Ahead of the 2023 elections, a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has nullified all primary elections conducted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State over the unlawful exclusion of some party members as delegates to the primaries. Justice E A Obile made the declaration in a judgement he delivered Tuesday over a case instituted by one George Orlu and four others as Plaintiffs against Rivers APC, requesting nullification of the primaries of APC in Rivers for alleged exclusion in the process. The judge agreed with the Plaintiffs that they were wrongly excluded in the elections to participate in the party primaries, ruling the primaries nullified and all those elected consequently not recognized as candidates for the coming elections. Dissatisfied with the judgement, the Spokesman to Rivers APC, Darlington Nwauju, said, “We believe the appellate court shall treat the matter dispassionately and deliver justice because this is not an action against the primaries of our party but an attempt at challenging the composition of our delegates list. “We assure River people that the attempt to rehash the 2019 episode in Rivers is already dead on arrival. Nothing will stop APC Rivers from being on the ballot in 2023. Supreme court has decided on a plethora of cases affirming that political parties are their own operating authorities and can regulate own internal affairs. The subject matter for which Justice Obile granted reliefs of the Plaintiffs is entire our internal affairs, therefore it is a travesty of justice far as we are concerned.” | Court Verdict, Nullification of APC Primaries in Rivers State | https://bit.ly/3DchstG | |
| Punch Online | 26th October 2022 | Tinubu, Obi unfold agenda for women, Atiku absent | The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, and his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa, were on Tuesday absent at the sixth edition of the Voice of Women 2022 Conference and Awards in Abuja. The event organised by Women Radio 91.7 FM and Voice of Women Empowerment Foundation, with support from the MacArthur Foundation, with the theme, “Towards rebuilding Nigeria: An agenda for an inclusive and accountable Nigeria”, provided an opportunity for presidential candidates or their running mates to explain their plans and commitments to Nigerian women on the 2023 elections. The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was absent, but he was represented by his running mate, Kashim Shettima. Shettima said, “The Asiwaju administration will be a government that will be friendly to women. They are the backbone of our society because they constitute over 50 per cent of our total population. If Nigeria will reach its full fullest potential, we must give every person and segment of the population a fair chance to make their best contribution to the well-being and betterment of our nation. The growth of our economy and achievement of our nation and destiny rests on equity and the safeguarding of the fundamental rights and decency in our society. This means ending all forms of divisive biases, including gender discrimination.” Meanwhile, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, promised to support the making of a new law to guarantee the reservation of a specific percentage of all elective and appointive positions for women and youths. While recalling the contributions made by the women in his cabinet towards his success as governor of Anambra State, he said they were more productive than the men. He said, “You mothers are the ones that will suffer more if things go wrong. I believe in women and I believe they can save the country"". The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Dumebi Kachikwu, said his presidency would tackle the marginalisation of women in Nigeria. “Women have suffered for us, yet marginalised. But I promise to change the narrative and make women part of my government,” he said. | Campaign promises, Women Inclusion in Governance | https://bit.ly/3DyzEz9 | |
| Daily Trust Newspaper | 26th October 2022 | Why Security Threats Must Be Tackled Before 2023 Poll — Reps | The chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters, Aishatu Jibril Dukku, the chairman, House Committee on Army, Abdulrazak Namdas, and others have said that security threats and political violence must be tackled before the 2023 poll. They said that would guarantee free, fair and credible elections. They made the call at a two-day workshop for heads of security agencies yesterday organised by the House of Representatives Committee in conjunction with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) in Abuja. Dukku said there is a strong need for the government and all stakeholders, including all Nigerians, to explore ways to tackle any threats. She said: “As we advance into the 2023 general elections, those who plan to constitute a cog in the wheel of the electoral progress of our country should be made to face the consequences of their actions. “Elections can only be held in a transparent manner where the results will be a true reflection of the votes cast by the people with the provision of adequate security.” She, however, disclosed that efforts are being made at state and national levels to address emerging trends caused by disinformation, thuggery, hate, tribal and religious bigotry, that are capable of stirring up violence that can hinder the conduct of a free, fair and credible election that Nigerians desire. | Aishatu Jibril Dukku, Insecurity | Page 30 | |
| Daily Trust Newspaper | 26th October 2022 | 52 Deregistered Parties Adopt SDP Presidential Candidate, Adebayo | The 52 political parties recently deregistered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have thrown their weight behind the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo. Leaders of the affected parties yesterday in Abuja, said their members would register in the SDP and work for all the candidates of the party. The parties, under the umbrella body of Mobilise All Nigerians for Good Governance (MAN), said their aim is to ensure that they support credible candidates that will have a positive impact on the lives of Nigerians and the promotion of unity in diversity. The leader of the group, Dr Odion Cedrack Okpebholo, said MAN was formed in March 2019, immediately after the 2019 general elections, and that apart from the deregistered parties, it also included civil societies, NGOs, youths, women and other communities and organisations seeking to work for the progress of the country. “The SDP and her presidential candidate, the impeccable persona of Barrister Prince Adewole Adebayo, Mr Adequate, is our preferred candidate for the forthcoming 2023 elections. All members, from national level to ward level, should be card-carrying members of the SDP; that some of our members (MAN) should be incorporated into the campaign council, and workforce from ward level to national level,” he said. | SDP, Campaign, 52 Deregistered Political Parties | Page 31 | |
| This Day Newspaper | 26th October 2022 | Govs in Collusion with Persons at INEC, Security Agencies Plotting to Reverse Electronic Voting, CSO Alleges | A civil society organisation, Partners for Electoral Reform, yesterday raised the alarm over an alleged plot by some desperate politicians working in collusion with security agencies and some staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to rig the 2023 general elections through manual voting. This was just as it also alleged that there were ongoing efforts to remove the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mamood Yakubu. Chairman of the group, Mr. Ezenwa Nwagwu, who is also a member of the board of YIAGA, another civil society organisation in the country, made the allegations in an interview with journalists in Abuja. He said Yakubu was being threatened by known persons in the country. “I think that the current INEC leadership has for me put in place a legacy that you can’t erase in the sense that it has successfully restored power back to the people. Power to elect has returned back to the polling units. But that has triggered a lot of reaction from politicians who are completely absent in any conversation about reforms. What that means is that there seems to be a spotlights on electronic transmission of results. There seems to be a lot of interests around the BVAS and these are the game changers for 2023.Politicians in collusion with even some elements within INEC and the security agents,” he alleged were part of the grand conspiracy against the nation. Ezenwa who called for an investigation on the allegations recently raised by CUPP, said there was need for citizens to rise against any plot aimed at taking back the power to elect their representatives at level through advanced technology. | INEC, Partners for Electoral Reform, BVAS | Page 42 | |
| The Cable | 26th October 2022 | Tinubu is a potential dictator, says Dele Momodu | Dele Momodu, publisher of Ovation magazine, says Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is a potential dictator. He said this on Tuesday in an interview on Channels Television while explaining his opposition to Tinubu’s candidacy. “He is the only governor I know who had two deputy governors and they both got into trouble,” Momodu said. “I’m inferring dictatorship nothing else. I will never support dictatorship. I suffered under dictatorship, I was in detention, and exile for three years.” When asked if he believes Tinubu is a dictator, Momodu said: “He is a potential dictator, let me use that word.” Reacting to Festus Keyamo’s description of him as a praise singer, Momodu insisted that Tinubu’s manifesto is an appropriation of MKO Abiola’s legacy. On October 23, Momodu described the manifesto of Tinubu, titled ‘Renewed Hope 2023’, as an appropriation of MKO Abiola’s legacy. Responding, Keyamo, the minister of state labour and employment, said Momodu should stick to praise-singing instead of critiquing policy statements. Momodu also shared his two cents on the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The director of strategic communications in the PDP campaign said southerners must understand that democracy isn’t always about fairness. There has been division in the party over the calls for Iyorchia Ayu to step down as PDP national chairman on the grounds that the presidential candidate and chairman cannot be northerners. Amid the crisis, some governors — including Nyesom Wike of Rivers and Samuel Ortom of Benue — and other PDP stakeholders have backed out of supporting Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate. Speaking on the development, Momodu said the south needs to learn that democracy is different from revolution. “So, the south must learn about politics and politicking. It is not about sentiments. Democracy is different from revolution. The south cannot blackmail the north, just like the north cannot blackmail the south. We must work together. When you refuse to do that, you are heading to failure. Democracy is not always about fairness. And the best example I can give you would be the American example. How long did it take for an Obama to emerge in America? It’s a game of numbers; it’s not about sentiments.” | Dele Momodu, Interview, Bola Tinubu | https://bit.ly/3stRbSX | |
| Punch Online | 25th October 2022 | Atiku, Tinubu, Obi demand security beef-up, reject campaign suspension | The Presidential campaign organisations of the Peoples Democratic Party, the All Progressives Congress and the Labour Party have demanded increased security on campaign grounds. Speaking against the backdrop of the terror alerts issued on Sunday by the United States Mission and British High Commission in Nigeria, the councils also insisted that they would not suspend their rallies. The groups spoke to The PUNCH on Monday on behalf of their presidential candidates; Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, Bola Tinubu (APC) and Peter Obi of the LP. This is as the police pledged to deploy more personnel on campaign grounds and strengthen security nationwide. The US and the UK in the security alerts warned their citizens in Nigeria about the risk of attacks by terrorists across the country, especially in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Speaking on the development, the PDP vowed to go ahead with its campaigns in preparation for the 2023 general elections. A spokesperson for the PDP council, Kola Ologbondiyan, tasked the Federal Government to provide adequate security not just at campaign rallies but across the length and breadth of the country. He said, “We have no plan to suspend our campaigns because of this terror alert. We will continue to take our message to rescue our country to all Nigerians wherever they are. We are determined to win this election come 2023. So, suspending campaigns because of this is totally unnecessary.’’ This comes as the National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Abayomi Arabambi said the police must provide security at rallies, noting that the party had written to the police for protection. “Although officially we have written for protection, we will not mind taking private security (guards) who will be loyal to the cause,’’ he stated. Emeka Obasi, media aide to Labour Party’s candidate, Peter Obi, on Monday gave condition for suspending the rallies. Obi’s media aide believes campaigns and rallies should not be sacrificed for human lives. He said, “These are human lives we are talking about. I think it is high time all the presidential candidates in this election sat the president down and discuss the insecurity issue. Otherwise, it is not going to be business as usual for people to go out anyhow for rallies. Similarly, the Spokesperson for Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo explained that the council had a security directorate that could handle any safety issues during the APC rallies. “We have a directorate that is in charge of security. That is one of the reasons the particular directorate was set up. Any proactive steps regarding security threat, they will take care of it adequately,’’ the Minister of State, Labour and Employment stated. When asked if the party would suspend its rallies because of the security advisory, Keyamo said, “We have not taken any of such decision yet. But I don’t think there is any cause for alarm.” | Campaign, Security Alert | https://bit.ly/3so5TuC | |
| Nation Online | 25th October 2022 | PDP bribing YPP members with N.5m to defect’ •Allegation false, says ruling party | Young Progressives Party (YPP) in Akwa Ibom State has accused Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of offering monetary inducements to its members in order to deplete its membership. The party alleged that the PDP, afraid of losing next year’s elections, had perfected plans to flood the state with money it intended to use to buy votes and secure victory for its candidates. YPP House of Representatives candidate for Ikot Abasi federal constituency Nsikan Udoh made the allegations yesterday during a chat with the NATION correspondent in Uyo. Udoh, an architect, alleged that members of his party were being bribed with N500,000 for them to defect to the PDP, adding that the strategy was to weaken the strength and popularity of the YPP ahead of next year’s elections. Reacting to the allegations, PDP said YPP was already crying foul, knowing that it had no chance of victory in the state.The state Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Borono Bassey, described the allegation as “absolutely false and preposterous.” | Allegations of bribery, YPP, PDP, Akwa Ibom State | https://bit.ly/3SvYqUP | |
| Nation Online | 25th October 2022 | Group seeks more women’s participation in politics | A group, Women in Politics Forum (WIPF), has attributed the poor participation of women in politics and the political process in Nigeria to the dominance of the political space by their male counterparts. Speaking at a press conference in Sokoto, the Sokoto State capital recently, its National President Ebere Ifendu solicited the support of the media to change the narratives in favour of the women folk. Ifendu said statistical surveys suggest that women’s representation in elective positions was discouraging and needed to be reversed. She blamed the lack of internal democracy in party politics, provision of free forms to women and god-fatherism as some of the issues responsible for the poor participation of women as expected. She said: “Our appeal is to the media to partner with us to drive our mission and vision for the country through inclusive participation. It is no longer news that at the end of the last general elections in 2019, women made up of a total of 4.71 per cent of the elected officials, showing a decline from the 2015 period when women made up 5.6 per cent of the elected officials.” The group expressed appreciation for the passage of the Electoral Act 2022, which gives INEC the power to deploy technological innovations to ensure that every vote counts to make elections free and fair. But, it said further cooperation is required from the judiciary, the executive, the legislature, the media, security agencies, political parties, as well as religious, traditional and community leaders to strengthen the political space and allow inclusive participation that will reflect the better representation of women. Public Relations Officer of the Sokoto State chapter, Fatima Khalid also appealed to political parties to ensure that there is a level-playing ground to allow women to showcase their prowess in elective and appointive positions. She described as unfortunate the fact that committees on women’s affairs in some state assemblies are headed by male legislators, a practice which has further denied women their rightful place in the political arena. | WIPF, Ebere Ifendu, Low representation of women in politics | https://bit.ly/3StPBLb | |
| The Guardian Online | 25th October 2022 | Arrest attackers of Jandor, Akindele campaign train, PDP tells police | Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, yesterday, urged the police to fish out miscreants that disrupted the campaign tour of the governorship candidate of the its party, Dr. Olajide Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, and his Deputy, Funke Akindele, in Badagry. The Guardian reports that Jandor and Akindele campaign train was on Sunday night attacked by suspected miscreants at the Ikoga Junction area of Badagry Council of the state. The incident, which had some journalists sustaining injuries, happened while returning from a visitation to members of the PDP. Chairman of the Media and Publicity Secretary, Hakeem Amode, said the attack led to many members of Jandor’s entourage sustaining injuries, while a broadcast journalist was admitted to the hospital. “We hereby call on the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State and the Area Commander of Police in the Badagry Division to do everything possible to fish out those behind the attack and take necessary disciplinary actions against them to forestall such occurrences in the future.” Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Lagos State chapter, has asked the PDP to stop heating up the polity as it pursues its ambition. The party made the remarks in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Seye Oladejo, in reaction to allegations that APC sponsored thugs on Jandor’s campaign team. Oladejo said: “Our attention has been drawn to the purported attack on the Lagos State PDP governorship candidate, Jandor, while on a campaign tour. It is important to state that APC abhors thuggery and any other form of violence in the name of politics. However, we find it repulsive that Jandor could level such grievous allegations and conveniently forget to give the names of the victims and the action taken by the battalion of security operatives, who always outnumber his entourage. This is just another level in the propaganda machinery of the PDP candidate to curry public sympathy through blatant lies and unsubstantiated claims.” | Campaign, Attack on Campaign Train, Jandor, Lagos State PDP Governorship Candidate | https://bit.ly/3W1ABY7 | |
| The Guardian Online | 25th October 2022 | 2023: Women threaten boycott, to engage Tinubu, Atiku, Obi, others | Amid resounding debate on the single faith ticket and resort to ethnicity by parties, which has defined the campaigns so far, a coalition of over 500 women organisations under the aegis of Womanifesto movement, yesterday, provoked a fresh controversy over the 2023 elections, when it stated that none of the presidential candidates has told them his concrete plans for women and girls in the country. Though they refused to declare support for any candidate, the women’s group disclosed that plans have been concluded to meet all presidential candidates today to table home their demands. Among presidential candidates expected at the meeting are Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP) and 15 others. The Womanifesto leaders spoke at the national women’s dialogue with the theme, ‘Electoral Integrity and Accountability: Towards Corruption-free Elections’ in Abuja, funded by MacArthur Foundation and Women’s Rights Advancement & Protection Alternative (WRAPA Nigeria), in partnership with Affirmative Action Initiative for Women. They emphasised that 2023 elections won’t be business as usual, noting that women would demand for the best and hold those vying for public offices accountable.Members of the coalition include Women Advocate Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), Education as a Vaccine (EVA), Enough is Enough (EiE), Emerge Women (EW), Empowerment and Action Research Centre (EARC), Equality Through Education Foundation (ETEF), Equity Advocates/The Woman, FAME Foundation, Federation of Informal Workers of Nigeria (FIWON), Federation of Muslim Women Association in Nigeria (FOMWAN) and Federation of Paralegal Network (FEDPAN), among others. Speaking, co-convener, Womanifesto Dialogue, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, said it was high time the political class stopped treating women as second-class citizens in the country, adding, “our identity and dignity as women matter.” | Womanifesto, Women Inclusion in Governance | https://bit.ly/3DvWN5u | |
| Daily Post Online | 25th October 2022 | 2023: Nigerian youths hirelings of moneybag politicians – ADC’s Kachikwu | The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the 2023 general election, Mr. Dumebi Kachikwu has said the youngsters in Nigeria who should have championed new age politics are being hired by moneybag politicians. He lamented that the category of people being hired haven’t realised that it was time they should be championing change in the political system, but they were being rented for ‘crowd competition’ by some presidential candidates, adding that this category of citizens lacked patriotic zeal to fight to rescue Nigeria from the woods. The ADC flagbearer spoke at a press conference on Monday, declaring that they are enemies of themselves for not being ready for good governance. According to him, bigger parties that are participating in the upcoming election have become experts in using these people to get themselves into power, adding “if elections were to hold tomorrow, these same people who spend money on votes, who pay the electorate to vote for them will emerge because what we see in the field is that Nigerians are still not ready for the change they clamour for. That is our reality as of today.” Speaking on how he would campaign to wrestle power, the businessman cum politician said, he has four months to speak to Nigerians, which he hoped the majority who have been silent would come out to support him. He believed that when the majority comes out to back him and says “enough is enough”, the narrative would change. Kachikwu challenged political stakeholders, including those organising political debate to invite the 18 presidential candidates to tell Nigerians what each of them planned to offer and not the selective approach which they are doing now. | ADC Presidential Candidates, Dumebi Kachikwu, Campaign | https://bit.ly/3Ffpd4Y | |
| Daily Post Online | 25th October 2022 | Nigeria will break if Tinubu wins, APC govt prints money daily – Obaseki | Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki, blew hot on Monday as he advised Nigerians against supporting the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2023. The governor warned that the country would break if APC presidential candidate Bola Tinubu succeeds President Muhammadu Buhari. Obaseki made the remarks at the inauguration of the Edo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Campaign Council. The governor said the Nigeria’s debt would soon hit N60trillion, a situation that would affect generations. “Our heads should be examined as citizens if we contemplate voting for a government like APC. “Like I said, God forbid APC comes into power. This country will break up…his country will fail.” Obaseki stressed that “nobody has done the kind of damage the APC government has done”. Obaseki said his heart was “beating”, and that by the time PDP’s Atiku Abubakar wins, “we will not be able to sleep day and night. Every day, every month they are printing (money). When I spoke more than a year ago, I did not know it was as bad as this. What will happen to the naira, only God will help us. They have destroyed the bases of this country”, he declared. | Governor Godwin Obaseki, Campaign | https://bit.ly/3gF6WDz | |
| The Cable | 24th October 2022 | PDP alleges attack on Jandor’s campaign train, says many injured | The campaign train of Olajide Adediran, governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos, has been reportedly attacked by thugs. In a statement by Hakeem Amode, the PDP chairman in the state, he said the attack on Adediran, who is popularly known as Jandor, occurred at the Ikoga junction area of Badagry LGA on Sunday. Amode said “several” persons on the convoy were injured, including a journalist. “The campaign train of the PDP candidate was attacked today while returning from visitation to members of the party at the Ikoga Junction area of Badagry local government by All Progressives Congress sponsored thugs,” the statement reads.“The attack led to injury of several members of Jandor’s entourage and pressmen. As of the time of this press statement, one of the news reporters is in critical condition in an undisclosed hospital while those injured are been treated. “The thugs that attacked the campaign train were shouting APC while shooting guns and using dangerous weapons. You will recall that our party raised concern over the threat to use APC-sponsored thugs to attack the campaign programmes of our gubernatorial candidate Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran-Jandor recently. We would like to state categorically that this will not deter the determination of our candidate to campaign for the next election and win come March 29, 2023. We would like to call on the commissioner of police of Lagos state and the area commander of police in the Badagry division to do everything possible to fish out those behind the attack and necessary disciplinary actions taken against them to forestall such occurrences in the future and to instill confidence in our members that they will be protected during this campaign period". | Jandor, Lagos State PDP Governorship Candidate, Olajide Adediran, Attack on campaign train | https://bit.ly/3D0YPZJ | |
| The Cable | 24th October 2022 | PDP crisis: Bode George queries BoT’s resolution, says Ayu was a ‘judge in his case’ | Bode George, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, says Adolphus Wabara, the acting chairman of the party’s board of trustees (BoT), may not have presented the exact resolution of the committee during a visit to Iyorchia Ayu, the party chairman. The Wabara-led PDP BoT had in a reconciliatory visit to Ayu asked him to assure members that he will resign after the 2023 general election. Speaking on ChannelsTV on Sunday, George said based on the comments from some members of the PDP BoT, there are controversies surrounding the position of Wabara during the meeting which may not be in tandem with the resolution of the members. “The board of trustees met, and we are told by one group that what they recommended was not what the acting board of trustees chairman said in the day they are presenting the report. So what is going on? For example, I wasn’t invited to the meeting. I am a life member of the board of trustees. We were not there,” the PDP chieftain said. And the shocking part of it, when I saw it on television, I saw that Iyorchia Ayu, the national chairman of the party, who was the centre of the issue was sitting as a judge in his own case. Does that make any judicial sense? You are discussing him, he is sitting as if he was the one moderating. That is not the way things are done. I don’t know what is the factual analysis. All we were told was that Ayu made a promise and he must honour his promise. On that day we were told again that was not what was said. What was said was that Ayu should make a promise that when the elections are over, he will leave, that he will make that promise. My goodness, time is of the essence. Nobody is going to wait for us.” George, however, said the crisis rocking the PDP is sending the wrong messages to Nigeria about the affairs of the party. | Bode George, Adolphus Wabara, Interview, PDP Crisis | https://bit.ly/3gysVw3 | |
| The Guardian Online | 24th October 2022 | Youths raise concern over 2023 elections as group offers path for peaceful exercise | Unified Nigerian Youth Forum (UNYF) has warned that those calling for removal of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, are planning to scuttle the 2023 general elections. Addressing newsmen, yesterday, in Kaduna, president of the forum, Comrade Abdulsalam Mohammed Kazeem, said adoption of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) was already giving election riggers sleepless nights. He regretted that in spite of giant strides recorded under Mahmood, especially in the area of cutting edge technology to ensure credible polls, some groups and individuals have chosen to play deaf and blind to the realities. Kazeem said: “The activities of certain groups of persons purporting to be promoting the interest of the North and Nigeria, but actually working for enemies of the country have come to notice. These persons have continued to falsely accuse and demand resignation and sacking of INEC boss for carrying out his mandate. We believe that those behind this charade are nothing but paid agents and goons of selfish and unpatriotic politicians seeking to manipulate next year’s general elections at all cost"". ""We dispel in strong terms the rumours making the rounds that the INEC boss and his management team have morally compromised because of pressure from political parties to deactivate BVAS. For the record, BVAS and all the electoral reforms currently in place have been approved by President Muhammadu Buhari, the APC (All Progressives Congress) and National Assembly.” Meanwhile, Building Blocks For Peace Foundation has offered path for peaceful polls come next year. To avoid large-scale violence that was witnessed in previous elections, it advised that political actors, especially presidential candidates, must begin to speak on concrete ways of ensuring inclusivity in governance and national unity. The organisation warned that if urgent interventions are not made to address emerging early warnings, the 2023 polls might be violent. Its Executive Director, Rafiu Adeniran Lawal, who gave the warning at a media briefing in Abuja over the weekend, said the decisions by the ruling party to adopt same faith ticket and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) handing over its nomination to a Northern were generating tensions across the length and breadth of the country. | Unified Nigerian Youth Forum, UNYF, BVAS, 2023 General Elections, Building Blocks For Peace Foundation | https://bit.ly/3VSXAV9 | |
| Independent Online | 24th October 2022 | Opposition Parties, CSOs Vow To Resist Move To Sack INEC Chairman | The opposition parties and civil society organisations (CSOs) have sent a strong message to some politicians plotting to remove the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, over the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in the 2023 general elections. The opposition and the CSOs said they will vehemently resist such move, adding that it is unfortunate that the parliament which is the last hope of the common man is actually considering to go ahead with such plot. The opposition, in a statement by the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), recalled that last month the conspiracy to remove the INEC chairman was uncovered. The CUPP, in a statement by its spokesman, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, pointed out that the move to remove the commission’s chairman has further been revealed by some media organisations. The report by a media organisation revealed, according to the CUPP, how politicians were moving against Mahmood Yakubu over INEC’s insistence on using the BVAS in next year’s general elections. The Coalition re-emphasised that the conspiracy to use the Senate to shake Yakubu so that he could jettison the use of BVAS will lead to electoral crisis and will be vehemently resisted by the opposition parties and CSOs. | CUPP, Coalition of United Political Parties, CSOs, BVAS, INEC Chairman, Yakubu Mahmood | https://bit.ly/3Fc6xTG | |
| Daily Trust Online | 24th October 2022 | Edo APC Demands Gov Obaseki’s Resignation | The Chairman of the Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Col David Imuse (Rtd), has asked Governor Godwin Obaseki to resign from office following a statement credited to him that governance will take back seat in the state. Obaseki, on Friday, during the inauguration of the state’s PDP presidential campaign council, said he would abandon governance for politics ahead of the 2023 elections to work for the victory of the party’s presidential candidate, Abubakar Atiku. But in a statement yesterday by the state’s Assistant Publicity Secretary of the APC, Osehobo Victor Ofure, Col Imuse said Edo people were aware that Obaseki was no longer interested in governance since he was sworn in for a second term of office. The APC said, “The result has been for the governor to stay away from Benin City while pretending to be busy searching for investors, signing agreements or MOUs or campaigning in an election in which he is not a candidate.” The party said it was wrong for the governor to say such, adding that other governors who were members of the PDP were still paying attention to governance in their states despite being involved in the campaign. The statement reads further: “This goes to confirm our conclusion that Edo State today is not a democracy but a dictatorship with Mr Godwin Obaseki as the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, hence our call for the governor to resign with immediate effect.” Effort to get a response proved abortive as government and PDP officials neither answered their phone calls nor responded to SMS sent to them. | Calls for Resignation, Edo State chapter of APC, Governor Godwin Obaseki | https://bit.ly/3TS2Vdg | |
| Daily Trust Online | 24th October 2022 | I Won’t Govern Nigeria From Dubai – Tinubu | The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has said that he will devote 100 per cent of his time and energy to the service of Nigeria and the people. Tinubu, at an interactive session with members of the Tijjaniyyah sect in Kano on Saturday, said he won’t be a part-time president who would share his time between living in Dubai and Nigeria, adding that he would concentrate on confronting and surmounting Nigeria’s pressing challenges. Tinubu made allusion to Atiku’s frequent visits and stay in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAEs), telling the clerics that unlike the PDP candidate, he would be totally dedicated to his duties if elected. He described Atiku as a “divider”, making reference to the PDP candidate’s comment at an interactive session with a group of Northern political leaders under the aegis of the Arewa Joint Committee at the Arewa House in Kaduna recently. Atiku had while answering a question on why Northerners should vote for him said, “What the average Northerner needs is somebody who is from the North and also understands that part of the country and has been able to build bridges across the country. This is what the Northerner needs; he doesn’t need a Yoruba or Igbo candidate.” Tinubu said, “Among all of us running, we are three now left. Isn’t it? One just failed the most important part of the examination. Are you a unifier or a divider? He said, ‘I am from the North.’ You are a divider!” The former Governor of Lagos State also claimed that PDP spent $16bn on electricity in its 16 years it ruled but failed to address the situation of epileptic power supply. He said, “I am reminding you that you don’t need a party which has served 16 years and forgot that electricity is the only driver of industrialisation and wealth of every nation. | APC Presidential Candidate, Bola Tinubu, Campaign promises | https://bit.ly/3MXU9Iw | |
| Daily Post Online | 24th October 2022 | Presidency: Osinbajo issues directive to staff appointed into Tinubu’s campaign | Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo has directed all staff of his office who are part of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, to give their best to the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu. Osinbajo issued the directive during a meeting with his staff members who are part of the PCC. Disclosing this, an aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, Ajuri Ngelale, said Osinbajo stressed the importance of the assignment. Ngelale, who is one of the spokesperson for the Tinubu-Shettima campaign organization, said the Vice President appealed to those concerned to carry out their duties without hindrance. He also urged members of the public to ignore any information stating otherwise. In a tweet, he wrote: “It must be noted that in a meeting today, H.E. VP @ProfOsinbajo has encouraged all OVP staff — who were privileged to be appointed into the @officialABAT 2023 Presidential Campaign Council — to give their best to the important effort without hindrance. Kindly ignore anything contrary". | Yemi Osinbajo, Presidential Campaign Council, Ajuri Ngelale | https://bit.ly/3sqstCW | |
| This Day Newspaper | 21st October 2022 | Buhari Inaugurates APC PCC as Tinubu Unveils Action Plan Today | President Muhammadu Buhari will today lead governors, National Working Committee members and other leaders of the All Progressives Congress to the inauguration of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the party this afternoon at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja. At the event, which is to signal the formal launch of the party’s campaign season, the presidential candidate of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima would unveil their ‘Action Plan’ for the transformation of the country. The 80-page document, containing a multi-sectoral policy options, was tagged “Renewed Hope 2023 – Action Plan for a Better Nigeria.” According to the document, the former Lagos State governor would prioritise National Security, Economy, Agriculture, Power, Oil and Gas, Transportation and Education, when elected President Buhari’s successor next February. Tinubu also outlined policy options for Healthcare, Digital Economy, Women Empowerment, Judicial Reform, Federalism/Decentralisation of Power and Foreign Policy. He promised huge investment in Sports Entertainment and Culture, Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurship, to expand jobs and opportunities for millions of Nigerian youths, and promised to continue and expand the massive Social Investment Programs of the Buhari administration. In his foreword to the document, Tinubu said his plans were conceived after travelling the length and breadth of the country and listening to people from different life strata. | Inauguration of APC Presidential Campaign Council, PCC | Page 60 | |
| Daily Post Online | 21st October 2022 | Supreme Court affirms Delta Speaker, Oborevwori Sheriff as Delta PDP gubernatorial candidate | The Supreme Court on Friday in Abuja affirmed the Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, Oborevwori Sheriff Francis Orohwedor, as the gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 governorship election in Delta State. The Apex Court upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal delivered on Monday, August 29, which voided and set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court of July 7, 2022, that nullified his nomination on the grounds of certificate forgery and perjury. Justice Tijani Abubakar held that the grievous allegations of supply of false information and certificate forgery brought against the Speaker cannot be proved beyond reasonable doubts with the use of originating summons. The court agreed that the appellant ought to have approached the Federal High Court via Writ of Summons to enable resolution of disputes and not by originating summons where only affidavit evidence is required. Justice Abubakar resolved all disputed issues in favour of Oborevwori Sheriff Francis Orohwed as canvassed by his lawyer, Mr Damian Dodo SAN. The Supreme Court in totality held that the case of the appellant, David Edevbie has no merit in any form and was subsequently dismissed. Details later. | Court verdict, Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, Oborevwori Sheriff Francis Orohwedor, PDP Delta State Governorship Candidate | https://bit.ly/3VLsBdz | |
| Daily Post Online | 21st October 2022 | Presidency not Yoruba property – Afenifere on endorsing Peter Obi | The apex Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere, has said the Presidency is not the personal property of the Yorubas. Afenifere was responding to allegations of picking the Labour Party, LP, Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, ahead of Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC. Sola Ebiseni, the Afenifere’s Secretary-General, said the body’s support for Obi was based on principle and the interest of the Nigerian State. Ebiseni made the clarification during an interview on Arise TV. The South-East has been agitating for a run at the presidency and the popularity of Peter Obi, especially amongst the youth demography might upset the established order. However, Ebiseni said, “Our support of Peter Obi was based on the principle of justice. The presidency is not the personal property of the Yorubas and BAT is a product of the Afenifere. “The group’s support has nothing to do with personalities but peace in the country. Afenifere is not apolitical with seasoned politicians within the ranks. The Nigerian state comes first and we want a nation with everyone having a sense of belonging. And since we want it to come to the South, no one region should corner it.” | Afenifere, Afenifere’s Secretary-General, Sola Ebiseni | https://bit.ly/3THq6XK | |
| This Day Newspaper | 21st October 2022 | 2023: Interfaith Body Endorses Obi, Baba-Ahmed | An interfaith body from North Central states led by Archbishop Leonard Kawas, the General Overseer of World Harvest Ministry and Sheikh Muhammed Muritala Mahmood, yesterday, declared the readiness of the group to support the candidacy of the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Datti baba-Ahmed. But the National Chairman of the party, Julius Abure, has described the visit as not only timely but divine, adding that the party, had uncovered plot to attack its members in some states across the country. This is as supporters of Obi, have accused the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai of playing bitter politics. However, the group made the declaration, when its leaders from the FCT, Nasarawa, Kaduna and Niger, paid a visit to the National Chairman of Labour Party, Julius Abure, at the party’s headquarters in Abuja, where they prayed for the success of the party in next year’s general election. Speaking during the visit, Archbishop Kawa, who led the delegation said their decision to support the Labour Party was necessitated by the fact that Obi and Baba-Ahmed represented the two major faiths in the country and that because they were individuals, who had distinguished themselves, they were the best shots for the people. He explained that they “have partnered with Islamic bodies and scholars for years in this country to bring about unity between all faiths, including traditional worshipers.” | North Central States, Inter-faith body, Peter Obi, Datti baba-Ahmed., Endorsement | Page 60 | |
| Daily Trust Online | 21st October 2022 | Primaries Not War, Let’s Work Together — Nasarawa Gov Tells Aggrieved APC Members | Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule has warned members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against anti-party activities, political rivalry and vendetta, emphasising that members must work together for the success of the party at various levels of elections come 2023. The governor gave the warning during a meeting involving all the candidates of the party for the 2023 general elections, as well as members of the State Working Committee of the APC, at the government house, Lafia. Sule explained that, as the leader of the party in the state, he would not watch as some members involved themselves in anti-party activities following the outcome of the party’s primaries. While acknowledging that the APC in the state is experiencing some challenges that are mostly self-inflicted, arising from the recently held party primaries, the governor, however, appealed to members of the party to put that behind them and forge ahead. According to him, it’s the responsibility of the candidates of the party to carry along all those that were not successful at the primaries, rather than engage in bitter political rivalry and vendetta.“It was not a war. It was just primaries that were conducted. True or false, right or wrong, they have been conducted. And we must put them behind us; we must find ways to unite so that the party can move as a team,” Sule concluded. | Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, Aggrieved APC Members in Nasarawa State | https://bit.ly/3z1dvqt | |
| Vanguard Online | 21st October 2022 | I’m a youth; I know Nigeria’s problem, I can solve them — Accord’s Imumolen | Accord presidential candidate, Professor Christopher Imumolen says his status as a youth makes him eminently qualified to solve the many and varied problems of the youths in the country. Professor Imumolen, 39, and the youngest amongst the 18 candidates vying for the seat of Nigeria’s president come 2023 says no one can know the psychology and unique peculiarities of the youth more than a youth. He is not amused by the attempts of some of his fellow contestants to create the impression that they are youths when they are actually not, saying it would be a colossal error by the youths themselves to be hoodwinked into endorsing such candidates. “The clamour by the younger segment of the population for a president of the youth extraction probably led to some persons migrating to other political parties and attempting to dress in the garbs of youths,” Professor Imumolen said during a recent interview in Lagos. But we all know that once a person grows past a certain age bracket, he can no longer be referred to as a youth. So, strictly following that analogy, I can unabashedly say that I am the only authentic youth going into the 2023 presidential elections. I need to make this categorically clear in order to sensitise the youths in this regard. Now, beyond making that clarification, I want to let the youths know that I represent their voices, that I am the one who knows their problems and therefore naturally positioned to solve them. They should know that this is a unique opportunity for them to make a bold statement about the much sought-after paradigm shift in the power equation of this country". | Accord Presidential Candidate, Professor Christopher Imumole, Campaigns | https://bit.ly/3SAH9Kp | |
| This Day Newspaper | 21st October 2022 | PDP Resumes Presidential Campaign Tomorrow in Benin | The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential campaign will resume tomorrow, Saturday in Benin, Edo State. The campaign rally will be the third in the series after the flag-off in Uyo Akwa Ibom State and in Kaduna. In a statement by the Director General of the Presidential Campaign, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, all governors, members of the National Assembly and chieftains of the party were invited. | PDP Begins Campaign, Benin City | Page 5 | |
| The Guardian Online | 20th October 2022 | APC blames ‘rented crowd’ for disruption of PDP Kaduna rally | The All Progressives Congress (APC) has alleged that “the rented crowd” at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rally in Kaduna State should be held responsible for the disruption. APC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, distanced itself from the unfortunate incident.Urging security agencies to probe PDP supporters, to unmask and prosecute the culprits, the party called on political parties to eschew violence and play strictly by the rules of political engagement. Underlining the need by all parties and candidates to subscribe to issue-based campaigns and observe applicable ethical standards and best practices, the party said it behoves all stakeholders to ensure a peaceful electioneering ahead of the 2023 general election. It noted: “The ugly event that unfolded at the PDP rally in Kaduna last Monday was wrong, but, regrettably, self-inflicted. As a party, we abhor and condemn any form of violence and interference in the activities or events of any political party. “Every party is entitled to conduct its legitimate activities in peace and under security. Every party has a right to equal protection under the law. Perpetrators of disruptive and other acts of violence must be brought to justice. To be clear, the APC has no hand in the attack as irresponsibly alleged by the PDP. We have no reason to be perturbed by the rally. As Africa’s largest political party, bolstered by the remarkable accomplishments of President Muhammadu Buhari, with a vibrant future led by our visionary presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, we cannot, in any way, be unnerved by any political party or presidential candidate. Certainly, not by the PDP, a party in tatters and at war with itself". | Kaduna State, Attacks at party rallies | https://bit.ly/3Ddyfhq | |
| The Guardian Online | 20th October 2022 | El-Rufai telling ‘blatant lies’ on arrest by Peter Obi, says LP spokesperson, Tanko | Labour Party (LP), yesterday, criticised Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, over “blatant lies”, after the latter claimed LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, arrested him in Anambra in 2013. El-Rufai had narrated how he was arrested in Anambra State when Obi was governor. An old footage went viral almost immediately, purportedly showing where El-Rufai, in an interview after the supposed arrest, said three AK-47 wielding operatives picked him “threatening that they have directive from Abuja to restrict me to my room.” But Chief Spokesperson of LP Presidential Campaign Council, Dr Yunusa Tanko, at a press briefing in Abuja, yesterday, narrated what happened in Anambra in 2013, when he was the national chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC). He said: “On November 16, 2013, I was the IPAC chairman. I was in charge of all political party leaders. We were at the Finotel Hotel in Awka, Anambra State. Normally, all complaints from any political party come to our table. We had a situation room, organised by International Republican Institute. El-Rufai and my humble self and many others stayed in the same hotel.” He expressed dismay that El-Rufai was claiming that he was attacked or gagged, saying: “We really investigated and we called a press conference on the matter, signifying the fact that El-Rufai was, at that time, the Deputy National Secretary of APC, and so he should be allowed to perform his duty according to party dictates. And then, there was no ambiguity because the security present at that time was to protect all senior personnel of political parties in that hotel.” He explained that Obi, who was the governor of the state at the time, had nothing to do with any security issue as claimed by El-Rufai. “I have photos to prove how we addressed a press conference at Finotel Hotel, Awka, condemning the Department of State Services (DSS) for illegally detaining El-Rufai. He never, for once, mentioned Peter Obi. This same El-Rufai went to court on this same issue. Obi was not mentioned, rather it was the DSS, and he got a judgment against them. It was a PDP government at the centre and Obi was a governor flying the flag of APGA. The court awarded him N2 million in damages for unlawful detention. Go into the Internet and you will see the full details. Precisely, it was published in Premium Times and Sahara Reporters of September 24, 2014". | El-Rufai, Peter Obi, Anambra 2013, Chief Spokesperson of LP Presidential Campaign Council, Dr Yunusa Tanko | https://bit.ly/3Dd8uxB | |
| The Cable | 20th October 2022 | All NWC members, ministers included as APC expands campaign council | The All Progressives Congress (APC) has released a fresh presidential campaign council list. The list dated October 19 was signed by Iyiola Omisore, national secretary of the party, and released on Wednesday. President Muhammadu Buhari will unveil the party’s manifesto and inaugurate the campaign council on Friday. The initial list released by James Faleke, a house of representatives member and secretary of the council, had elicited pushback within the ranks of the party. Governors elected on the platform of the ruling party were reportedly displeased over the exclusion of their nominees from the campaign council list which had 422 members at the time. Some of the governors reportedly threatened to pull out of the campaigns if their demands were not granted. Falake subsequently moved to pacify them, saying that the list was incomplete and their nominees would be added to the update. The new list released by the party has over 600 names, including all the members of the national working committee (NWC), the federal executive council (FEC), the APC national assembly caucus and chairmen of the party in the states. The president was named chairman of the council while Abdullahi Adamu, national chairman of the APC, was tapped for deputy chairman. Bola Tinubu, the standard bearer of the party, is deputy chairman II, while Kashim Shettima, his running mate, is vice-chairman. Faleke still retained his position as secretary of the council. | APC Presidential Campaign Council | https://bit.ly/3Ddwtgg | |
| This Day Live | 20th October 2022 | Ortom: I’d Have Worked for Obi If I Were Not in PDP | Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, yesterday said he would have worked for the victory of the presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, if he were not a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Ortom spoke when he received Obi, who was in the state to commiserate with residents over flooding. The Benue governor said the 2023 presidential election would be a three-horse race between Obi, Atiku Abubakar of PDP, and Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He said Nigerians need to assess the three presidential candidates and elect the person “who has the capacity to deliver and make things work for our country Nigeria”.“Let us be factual. Let us be frank with ourselves because we are toying with our future. A country of over 200 million people deserves a better leadership that is proactive, has foresight and vision to make things work for our country,” he said. “I look forward that these three candidates of the various political parties will meet and say ‘look, let this man go’. I am in PDP and I am working for PDP. But I tell you, if I was not in PDP, you will see me working for Peter Obi. But I am in PDP. Let’s see how things work out.” Ortom encouraged Nigerians to go into the 2023 general election with the mindset of electing the best presidential candidate among the top hopefuls. | Samuel Ortom, Peter Obi, Campaign | https://bit.ly/3ShHaCw | |
| Daily Post Online | 20th October 2022 | I remain ADC Chairman in Kogi – Oggah | The embattled Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Kogi State, Mr. Kingsley Oggah says he remains the substantive Chairman of the Party. He admonished members of the party and the general public to disregard a purported letter suspending him which is currently trending in some online media. Oggah, who disclosed this to DAILY POST on Thursday, described the letter suspending him as fake, particularly that it was dated on the 6th of September when the person who signed it has since been removed. He urged the public to discountenance the purported letter, adding that it was intended to create disaffection amongst the party members. It could be recalled that a letter was sent to Mr Oggah, indicating that he had been suspended. The letter was signed by the embattled National Chairman, Ralph Okey Nwosu. | Kogi State Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, Mr. Kingsley Oggah | https://bit.ly/3s7KHca | |
| Vanguard Online | 20th October 2022 | Bala Mohammed warns PDP members against anti-party activities | Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi, on Wednesday, warned members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state against anti-party activities. Mohammed gave the warning during the inauguration ceremony of the PDP Presidential and Governorship joint campaign council in the state. The governor assured the people of Bauchi of a level playing ground for the peaceful conduct of forthcoming general elections in the state. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 600 member-council, which has 31sub committees is to be chaired by Mohammed himself, the PDP Chairman Hamza Akuya. serves as Deputy Chairman while Alhaji Faruq Ahmed is the Director-General. Others are the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Nuhu Zaki, who will serve as the Deputy Director General (Operations), Pharmacist Samila Brugga (Deputy D-G (Administration) and Hassan Gamawa (Deputy D-G (Technical). Mohammed urged members to close ranks and ensure that the PDP wins massively from ‘bottom to top. “Our party remains the strongest and most popular political party which has the capacity of winning elective positions". | Governor Bala Mohammed, Warning against anti-party activities | https://bit.ly/3D9pZih | |
| Leadership Online | 20th October 2022 | 300,000 PVCs Uncollected In Delta, Says INEC | Over 300,000 permanent voter cards (PVCs) which have not been collected are wasting away at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) offices in the 245 local government areas in Delta state. INEC resident electoral commissioner in the state, Rev Monday Udoh Tom, who made the revelation during the swearing-in of the executive of INEC Press Corps (IPC) yesterday, said the commission carried over 244,715 uncollected PVCs from the 2019 general elections, while it has so far received about 69,946 PVCs for those who registered between June and December 2021 and 17,000 transfer PVCs, bringing the stock of PVCs held by the commission to over 300,000.He said in addition to the above figures, the commission is expecting more PVCs for those who registered between January and July 2022, which would increase the stock of PVCs held by the commission. Tom lamented that most registrants, including those who registered from June to December 2021, have not shown up to collect their PVCs. “Our visit today is therefore to solicit the cooperation of members of this august body to take this information back to their respective constituents on the need to collect their PVCs, mainly because unlike in the previous election, the use of the number of accredited voters, rather than registered voters, in the event of determination of inconclusive election, has now made the imperative of collecting the PVC an overriding factor. “lt is indeed an incontrovertible fact, that it will amount to a great injury to the interest of those seeking elective offices, most of whom are your constituents, if at end of this election year, we add more to the stock of uncollected PVCs,” he said. | Uncollected PVCs in Delta State, INEC REC Delta State, Rev Monday Udoh Tom | https://bit.ly/3CFSYc8 | |
| Daily Trust Newspaper | 19th October 2022 | INEC Summons Parties Over Electoral Act Violation, Attacks On Opponents | The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it will convene a meeting with leaders of political parties next week over the spate of violence heralding campaigns for the 2023 general elections. The INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, raised the alarm on Tuesday in Abuja at the training of master trainers on election technology for the 2023 general elections. According to him, the clashes between opposing parties and their supporters during the ongoing campaigns across the country are worrisome. Yakubu’s alarm is coming barely three weeks after the signing of the peace accord by political parties and their presidential candidates, championed by the National Peace Committee (NPC). Daily Trust reports that there have been recorded clashes between members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) and Labour Party (LP) in some states. “Even as the commission is working hard to ensure a credible process in the forthcoming elections, reports of clashes among parties and their supporters in some states of the country during the ongoing electioneering campaign are worrisome.So too is the reported denial of access to public facilities for parties and candidates in some states of the federation. Let me caution parties and their supporters to focus on issues and steer clear of attacks on each other. These are not only violations of the Electoral Act 2022 but also negate the voluntary commitment by all political parties and candidates to the letter and spirit of the peace accord signed about three weeks ago under the auspices of the NPC,” Yakubu said. He also warned that parties, candidates and their supporters should not, by acts of commission or omission, further complicate the prevailing security situation in the country. | INEC, Electoral Act Violation, Mahmood Yakubu | Page 33 | |
| Daily Trust Newspaper | 19th October 2022 | We’ll Not Tolerate Lawlessness During Campaigns, Wamakko Warns APC Members | The Chairman, Senate Committee on Defence and leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Sokoto State, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, has warned members of the party against any act of lawlessness during their campaigns. He gave the warning while distributing vehicles and sewing machines donated by a businessman in the state to the party on Tuesday. The former governor noted that the party would not shield any peace violators. “If any of you does anything that is inimical to peace, we will allow the law to take its cause. I know APC members as peace-loving people. I want you to maintain the tempo, no matter the amount of provocation,” he said.He commended them for the high level of decorum shown when their billboards were being destroyed in the state. “Their posters and billboards are everywhere and nobody touches them, but when our own are erected, they destroy them,” he said. Wamakko appealed to the leaders of other parties to emulate the gesture. | Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, Campaign | Page 32 | |
| The Guardian Newspaper | 19th October 2022 | 2023: North has not endorsed any presidential candidate, Arewa leaders clarify | Northern leaders, under the umbrella of Arewa Joint Committee (AJC), yesterday, clarified they have not endorsed any presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections. Also, AJC, which comprises Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Jama’atu Matan Arewa, Arewa House, Northern Elders Forum (NEF) and Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP), said blueprints and other commitments made by the candidates would soon be made available to Nigerians for direct assessment. During a press conference at the ACF secretariat in Kaduna, yesterday, the Secretary General of the Forum, Mallam Murtala Aliyu, said Arewa leaders “hosted five of the six candidates who had accepted to participate in the (recent) historic interactions.” Alhaji Musa Rabiu Kwankwaso abstained. Aliyu said: “These interactions, in themselves, were not planned with the goal of endorsing a candidate. They are part of a longer process that plans to generate commitments to address challenges of the north by candidates, and which covers a substantial part of the campaigning period.We plan to extract and publish these commitments, so that Nigerians may measure and evaluate candidates against them. Our goal is to afford citizens an opportunity to match candidates against their commitments to matters that are central to the interests of the north.” This came as another group, Arewa Forum of Conscience, distanced itself from a rumoured endorsement of Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2023 elections. In a statement by its Chairman, Coordinating Committee, Musa Salihu Getso, the group urged northerners to be vigilant against the machinations of paid groups presenting self-serving positions as the opinion of people of the region. | Arewa Joint Committee, AJC, Endorsement, 2023 Presidential Candidates | Page 3 | |
| The Guardian Newspaper | 19th October 2022 | Olujimi urges Wike, Makinde, others to support PDP | Former Senate Minority Leader and senator representing Ekiti South Senatorial District, Chief Biodun Olujimi, has pleaded with Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike and other governors, as well as other aggrieved members of his team in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to sheathe their swords and support the party to win the 2023 presidential election. Olujimi, who lauded Wike and aggrieved members of his team for fighting for justice, equity and fairness in the party, however, urged them to look at the bigger picture of rescuing the people who are traumatised by the alleged misrule of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The Ekiti State senator spoke in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday, during an interactive session with newsmen on the crisis rocking the party and the pressure put on the presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to back Iyorchia Ayu’s removal for a chairman of southern extraction. She said that in their quest to get the national chairman of the party out of office, the aggrieved governors did not give proper thought to the Constitution of the party that stipulates that when a chairman of the party resigns, the deputy chairman from his zone takes over from him. Olujimi said: “Political parties are like families and there is nothing you can do without bruising each other. We have a lot of internal crises caused by ego bruising. I believe we are working on it. Despite the fact that we have problems, the party is working. We are meeting with the people that are yearning for our return to government. We are working hard to ensure that the right things are done". | Former Senate Minority Leader and senator representing Ekiti South Senatorial District, Chief Biodun Olujimi, Nyesom Wike, Atiku Abubakar, PDP Crisis | Page 4 | |
| This Day Newspaper | 19th October 2022 | Buhari to Inaugurate APC Presidential Campaign Council Friday | President Muhammadu Buhari will on Friday inaugurate the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the State House, Abuja ahead of the 2023 elections. The inauguration will formally kick start the party’s campaign activities that were initially suspended due to controversy generated by the 422-member campaign list initially released. The Director, Media and Publicity of Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, told THISDAY that the PCC and the action plan of the presidential candidate of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu would also be unveiled on Friday According to him, “By the grace of God on Friday, we are inaugurating the PCC and the action plan of the candidate.”The President, who doubles as the chairman of the campaign council, had promised to lead his party’s campaign and deliver the votes to ensure the victory of the party in the 2023 elections. A source close to the leadership of the campaign council also told THISDAY that the committee set up to review the manifesto of the party has concluded its assignment and has submitted its report. Although the assignment, according to the source, has been completed, the party ensured that identities of members of the committee were not made public. | APC Presidential Campaign Council, President Buhari, Tinubu-Shettima | Page 41 | |
| This Day Newspaper | 19th October 2022 | You Can’t Abandon Work for Election Campaign, Buhari Warns | President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, issued a stern warning to all ministers, permanent secretaries, and other top government officials not to involve themselves in electioneering activities ahead of the general election scheduled for the first quarter of 2023. Buhari gave the directive at the end of the two-day 2022 Ministerial Performance Review Retreat, held at the Conference Hall of the State House, Abuja. He warned ministers, permanent secretaries, and heads of government agencies not to abandon the business of governance for electioneering, saying, “Any infraction will be viewed seriously.” The president’s directive was preceded by his signing of Executive Order 012 on Improving Performance Management, Coordination, and Implementation of Presidential Priorities. He directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, to continue with the quarterly review process and assessment of ministries for the third and fourth quarters of 2022, saying the reports would form part of the transition documents of his administration to the incoming government. To achieve that objective, Buhari ordered all ministers and permanent secretaries to ensure that the performance reports of their ministries were submitted on a quarterly basis to the SGF for review by the Central Delivery Coordination Unit. “The outcome of these reviews would be made available for my consideration,” the president said. The president stated that despite the commencement of campaigns towards the 2023 general election, the business of governance must continue to receive the needed attention. He said, “Consequently, all ministers, permanent secretaries, and heads of agencies must remain focused in the discharge of their duties, as any infraction will be viewed seriously. | President Muhammadu Buhari, Warning to ministers, permanent secretaries and top government officials, Campaigns | https://bit.ly/3EVdHLW | |
| This Day Newspaper | 19th October 2022 | INEC Chair Expresses Concern over Attack on PDP Rally in Kaduna. Says it has reduced essence of Peace Accord. House Minority, Situation Room worried, demand probe | Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has expressed worry over Monday’s attacks on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), during a rally in Kaduna State. Yakubu said the development, and the rising mudslinging that was almost becoming the order of the day since campaigns kicked off on September 28, had diminished the essence of the peace accord recently signed by the political parties. He spoke in Abuja during the Training of Master Trainers on Election Technology for the 2023 general election. Similarly, the Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives condemned the attack on the PDP presidential campaign rally in Kaduna State on Monday by thugs allegedly mobilised by certain interests in the All Progressives Congress (APC). The caucus demanded probe. The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room also expressed concern over the incident and urged political parties and actors to call their supporters to order. In his remarks at the Training of Master Trainers on Election Technology for the 2023 general election, Yakubu stated that the reported denial of access to campaign facilities by some governors did not speak well of the campaigns, which ought to be issue-based. The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room also expressed concern over attacks by political thugs at campaign rallies in some parts of the country, urging political parties and actors to call their supporters to order. A statement by Convener of the Situation Room, Ms. Ene Obi, said the attacks by thugs in Zamfara and Kaduna states contravened the provisions of Section 91 (4) and Section 93 (1) of the Electoral Act 2022. The statement said, “In accordance with Section 91(4) of the Act, registered political parties in Nigeria and their candidates should not be prevented from holding rallies, processions or meetings at any time for their constitutional political purposes. “Section 93 (1) of the Act also states that a party, candidate or group of persons shall not directly or indirectly threaten any person with the use of force or violence during any political campaign in order to compel that person or any other person to support or refrain from supporting a political party or candidate. Situation Room reminds political parties that a contravention of this provision attracts a fine of N2, 000,000 in the first instance, and N500, 000 for any subsequent offence. A fine of N1, 000,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months follows suit for candidates or persons, who violate the law.” | Situation Room, INEC, Attacks at campaign grounds, Electoral Act 2022 | https://bit.ly/3D6dWlV | |
| The Cable | 18th October 2022 | El-Rufai: How Obi ordered SSS to detain me during Anambra guber election in 2013 | Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna, has alleged that Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra, ordered security operatives to detain him in 2013. Speaking on Monday at an event for presidential candidates organised by the Arewa joint committee, el-Rufai said as an official of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the time, he had gone to Anambra to monitor the governorship election in the state. The Anambra governorship election, which started in November 2013, was completed in December 2013 after supplementary elections were held in areas where it did not earlier take place. Following the election, Obi handed over to Willie Obiano of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in March 2014. During the election in November 2013, el-Rufai was detained by officials of the state security service (SSS) at a hotel where he had lodged in Awka, the state capital. Confirming the incident to NAN at the time, the SSS had claimed that el-Rufai was being protected for his safety. “El-Rufai is not an ordinary person. If anything happens to him, they will blame the security,” A.U. Okeiyi, SSS director in Anambra at the time, was quoted as saying. However, el-Rufai had sued the SSS over the development, and in September 2014, a federal high court in Awka had ordered the security agency to apologise to him. The court also awarded him N2 million in damages for unlawful detention. Speaking on Monday, el-Rufai said Obi, who is now presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), ordered his detention. “In 2013, I went to Anambra state, as an official of the APC, to witness the bye-election for governorship,” he said. Your next guest, Peter Obi, was governor. He got me arrested and detained for 48 hours in my hotel room. Now, I am the governor of Kaduna state. And he is coming to Kaduna. “In addition to the police and the SSS, I have one mechanised division Nigerian Army here, if I need to arrest and detain anyone. But we are northerners. We are civilised. We don’t do things like that.” Reacting to the Kaduna governor’s comment, a Twitter user, Adetutu Balogun, had shared a video showing el-Rufai, as APC deputy national secretary at the time, speaking on the incident. | Nasir el-Rufai, Peter Obi, Campaigns, 2013 Anambra Governorship Election | https://bit.ly/3Txyk4W | |
| Daily Trust Online | 18th October 2022 | At Northern Elders’ Parley: I’ll Champion Indivisible, Prosperous Nigeria, Complete Mambilla, AKK – Tinubu | Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and his Labour Party (LP) candidate, Peter Obi, yesterday made pledges to address challenges facing the North and the country at large if elected president, come February 25, 2023. The duo spoke separately during an interactive session with presidential candidates, organised by prominent northern groups including the Arewa Consultative Forum (NEF) and Northern Elders Forum (NEF) under the aegis of Arewa Joint Committee (AJC) at the Arewa House, Kaduna. After presenting their speeches, the presidential candidates were asked questions by members of the panel, which included the spokesman of NEF, Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed. Appearing before the northern elders, Tinubu who shared his blueprint for Nigeria’s development, promised to ensure the country remains indivisible, achieving greatness together as one. He said his administration will, just like he did upon assumption of office as Lagos State governor; bring out workable policies to ensure that insecurity is nipped in the bud in the North and across the country. He promised to get the needed funds to complete both the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station and Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Natural Gas Pipeline (AKK) if elected president in 2023. He said he will seek the right investment from both local and international investors to complete the two projects. On his part, when he appeared before the elders, Obi said the greatest asset of the country is the vast uncultivated land mass in the Northern part of the country. The former governor of Anambra State also said he has what it takes to unlock the potential of the country. He said the problem of the country is institutional weakness and lack of political will to effect genuine change that will change the narrative, promising that he is ready to bring the desired change. He promised to put measures in place to create employment for the teeming youths, saying that if there are opportunities for the youths, insecurity will be a thing of the past. Meanwhile the host state governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai beckoned on the Northern leaders to support Tinubu, stressing that the region is known for justice and honour. While applauding Tinubu for honouring the invitation, he opined that it is only fair that power should rotate to the South after President Buhari. | Northern Elder's Parley, Peter Obi, Bola Tinubu, El Rufai, Campaigns | https://bit.ly/3D70kqu | |
| Daily Trust Online | 18th October 2022 | Atiku To Kaduna Voters: I’ll End Insecurity, Revive Industries, Others | The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, yesterday urged voters in Kaduna to vote for him during the February 25 presidential elections, pledging to end insecurity and revive ailing industries, among others. Speaking at the presidential rally organised by his party in Kaduna, Atiku made two other key promises to the people of Kaduna State. According to him, if elected president, he will restore peace in the state.“People of Kaduna, first of all, let me thank you for your support in 2019, Kaduna State gave me the highest number of votes in Nigeria. Two, l have come here to pledge on behalf of PDP that if you vote for us, we will restore peace in Kaduna State. The security challenges will be addressed. Three, we promise that we will reactivate the industries in Kaduna State in collaboration with the private sector in the state. We will re-establish those factories. Four, we promise you, the roads linking Kaduna and Kano, linking Kaduna and Jos through Panbeguwa, linking Kaduna and Abuja will be completed by the grace of God. These are four undertakings I’m taking on behalf of PDP if you vote for PDP,” he said. In his remarks, vice presidential candidate Ifeanyi Okowa said Atiku Abubakar has the solution to Nigeria’s problems, adding that he will do his best to tackle poverty in the land. | Atiku Abubakar, Kaduna State, Campaign promises, Campaign, PDP | https://bit.ly/3TqZF8I | |
| The Nation Online | 18th October 2022 | Wike: PDP should apologise for Atiku’s ‘don’t vote Yoruba, Igbo’ comment | Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) received a heavy knock yesterday from Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike for the widely reported “don’t vote Yoruba, Igbo” remark by its presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar. Wike said the opposition party should apologise to Nigerians for the comment which, he argued, did not only amount to “Northernising the Presidency” but was capable of threatening the nation’s unity. The governor also flayed Atiku’s handlers for the remark, saying the “circumstances in which it was made” should be explained to Nigerians. He spoke just as Atiku’s Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, clarified that the former vice-president was jokingly responding to a question by a man who centered his question on the presidential candidate to issues affection the North. Wike, who arrived at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa in Ikwerre Local Government Area on arrival from Spain in company with Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) and Samuel Ortom (Benue), also reiterated his stance on the continued stay in office by the PDP National Chairman Iyorchia Ayu and the N1b controversy rocking the party. | PDP, Atiku Abubakar, Nyesom Wike, Calls for Atiku Abubakar to Apologise | https://bit.ly/3CDWqnH | |
| Guardian Online | 18th October 2022 | LP wants Iyaloja General prosecuted for allegedly forcing traders to back Tinubu | Labour Party (LP) has called for arrest and prosecution of Iyaloja General, Mrs. Folashade Tinubu Ojo, for allegedly coercing traders to support the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who happens to be her father. A viral video at the weekend showed shops of traders being shut for reportedly failing to attend a women’s rally for Tinubu. The affected sellers claimed being forced to pay N5,000 as fine. A statement by LP’s National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Abayomi Oluwafemi Arabambi, said the action was inconsistent with tenets of democracy. According to him, every Nigerian is entitled to associate with any political party of his or her choice. He stressed that the 1999 Constitution (as amended) guaranteed freedom of association, wondering when it became an offence for Nigerians to make personal political decision. He said the call became imperative following the recurring attacks on party members and offices in parts of Lagos. The spokesman claimed that the state police command had refused to act on its appeal to create an enabling environment for all politicians irrespective of party affiliations.The opposition party also drew attention of President Muhammadu Buhari to alleged assault of its members in Delta State, urging him to urgently rein in the development. It advised faithful to remain peaceful and law-abiding. | LP, Folashade Tinubu Ojo, Iyaloja, Campaign Rally | https://bit.ly/3D6qHNj | |
| The Nation Online | 18th October 2022 | 2023: INEC chair not under pressure to quit | Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu is not under any pressure to resign before the 2023 general elections, the commission has said. The commission also dismissed as rumours that some politicians plan to force INEC to drop the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). It insisted that there is no going back on the deployment of the technology for next year’s polls. Some political parties and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) recently alleged plots to truncate the elections through the stopping of the use of the BVAS and electronic transmission of results. According to them, the plans had been perfected to create a crisis of confidence based on trumped-up charges that would lead to the removal of top INEC officials, including Prof. Yakubu, and other national commissioners who are insisting on BVAS for the elections and the “irreversible” use of electronic transmission of the result. | INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, Calls for Resignation, BVAS | https://bit.ly/3gkdh7e | |
| Guardian Online | 18th October 2022 | Atiku is not North’s preferred presidential candidate, youths tackle ex-VP | Northern youths under the aegis of the New Northern Initiative for Growth have disagreed with the Arewa Consultative Forum over the alleged adoption of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar as its preferred contender for the 2023 elections. The political pressure group, while addressing the journalists on Tuesday in Bauchi, warned the ACF from endorsing any of the candidates, saying further that doing so might jeopardize the interest of the region. The National President of the Initiative, Lawal Sahabi in his speech read by the Bauchi State Chairman, Alkasim Abdulkadir said that: “We wish to use this opportunity to reply to suggestions making the rounds that Atiku Abubakar is behind recent moves by some elements of the Arewa Consultative Forum and Northern Elders Forum to endorse him as the single candidate of the region for the 2023 presidency. “We use the opportunity to ask the so-called elders to explain to northerners where they derived their mandate to impose a single candidate on the entire region. We also challenge them to explain what criteria they used to arrive at Atiku as consensus candidate for the North and to define his contributions to the growth of the region that qualifies him as such. We challenge them to prove they are truly leaders and well-meaning elders of the Northern region by telling the people what Atiku has ever done in the interest of or for the promotion and protection of the well-being of the region and its people". | New Northern Initiative for Growth, Atiku Abubakar, Consensus Candidate | https://bit.ly/3CJJWe | |
| The Cable | 17th October 2022 | Police arrest Umahi’s opponent for senate seat over ‘drug-related offence’ | The Ebonyi police command says it has arrested Linus Okorie, the Labour Party senatorial candidate for Ebonyi south. Chris Anyanwu, spokesperson of the command, in a statement on Monday, said Okorie was arrested and not abducted as speculated. He said Okorie, a former member of the house of representatives, was arrested over drug-related matters and several other offences. “Sequel to initial viral rumours renting the air, cum a Press Release accredited to one Dr David Ogbonna of Linus Okorie CaringHeart Foundation, purporting that the former member of House of Representatives, was abducted on Sunday,” the statement reads. “The State Police Command swung into action and later traced the said Okorie, who had evaded many Police arrests/invitations, to the head office of the Ebubeagu Security Outfit at the Old Government House. “Police detectives were briefed on why he was arrested which includes; his activities and utterances that incited and provoked the violence that engulfed Onicha Community which led to suspected gunmen to unleash mayhem in the area in 2021. Hence, the case has now been taken over by the Police Command for a scrupulous investigation. “Secondly, Okorie was severally invited by the Security and Intelligence Bureau of the Command over a petition dated, March 23, authored by the State’s Attorney General/Commissioner for Justice, alleging that he was spreading fake news against Gov Dave Umahi. When invited by the SIB over the false allegations/petition, Okorie in his characteristic pompous manner refused vehemently to report. Rather he chose to file fallacious suits against the Police Command. “It is also pertinent to mention that Okorie also have a pending case in which he is implicated in a drug-related offence where the suspects purported to be his agents were arrested for Hard drug sales and use at his City Hub Inn, Mile 50, Abakaliki.” The lawmaker is contesting for the same senate seat as Dave Umahi, governor of the state. | Linus Okorie, LP Senatorial Candidate for Ebonyi State, Arrests | https://bit.ly/3CEZQq7 | |
| The Cable | 17th October 2022 | PDP calls Atiku ‘symbol of national unity’ as backlash trails ‘north needs northerner’ remark | The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described Atiku Abubakar, its presidential candidate, as a “symbol of national unity”. The opposition party was reacting to the criticisms trailing the comments made by Abubakar on Saturday. While speaking in an interactive session of the Arewa townhall policy dialogue in Kaduna, the former vice-president said northerners need a president who hails from the north, not someone from an Igbo or Yoruba extraction. Abubakar’s remarks have elicited backlash from Nigerians and political groups, with the All Progressives Congress (APC) saying he is desperate and not fit to be in charge of the country. But in a statement issued on Sunday, Debo Ologunagba, PDP spokesperson, said Abubakar’s comment was taken out of context, adding that he “will never set any part of our country against the other”. “The PDP dismisses the attempt by the malignant APC to accuse the PDP Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar of playing ethnic and tribal politics,” the statement reads. The PDP describes as shameless and irresponsible that the APC will go to the extent of deliberately distorting, doctoring, misinterpreting and taking out of context, the comment by the PDP Presidential Candidate at a Stakeholders’ meeting in Kaduna State on Sunday in a bid to smear his image as a Pan-Nigerian leader. For clarity and avoidance of doubt, Atiku Abubakar remains a Pan-Nigerian leader, a symbol of national unity, cohesion and tolerance who is comfortable and loved in all parts of the country. He had never and will never set any part of our country against the other as being mischievously hyped by the APC. | Atiku Abubakar, Campaigns | https://bit.ly/3TvoY9Q | |
| This Day Live | 17th October 2022 | Northern Group Calls for Resignation of INEC Chairman | The Arewa Citizens’ Watch for Good Governance has asked the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to resign or be sacked. Addressing a press conference yesterday in Kaduna, chairman of group, Mohammed Adamu, alleged that the INEC chairman and his team were deliberately working against the interest of the north to suppress their votes. Adamu warned that his group would petition President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Assembly, the United States (US) Embassy and the European Union(EU) if the INEC chairman does not resign. According to the group, Yakubu and his team have morally compromised and cannot deliver on the task of conducting a free, fair and credible elections in 2023. The group also called for the arrest and prosecution of the INEC chairman over his silence on the allegation by political parties that he was being pressured by some forces to deactivate the BVAS machine to compromise the 2023 polls. Adamu said: “As a group, we made frantic efforts to get INEC to extend registration in our region following the shutdown of telecommunications networks to enable our armed forces to carry out special operations in most Northwestern and North Central states, which fell on rocky grounds. “The unfolding event is a pointer to one fact: INEC is deliberately working against Arewa in their satanic ploy to suppress votes from our region, and swell that of Southern Nigeria through the registration of ghosts and foreigners.” The group called on “relevant government agencies must arrest and prosecute Yakubu for trying to use his office to effect leadership change in our country in a satanic manner. “That Yakubu and members of his team should humbly resign so as to enable an independent probe into the allegation of insertion of foreigners’ names in our voters’ register. | Arewa Citizens’ Watch for Good Governance, INEC, Calls for regisnation of INEC Chairman, Northern Groupd | https://bit.ly/3SadG9L | |
| Daily Post Online | 17th October 2022 | Peter Obi, El-Rufai, Sanusi have exposed NNPC – CNPP | The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) said it has been vindicated by Peter Obi, Nasir El-Rufai, and Sanusi Lamido regarding the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. In recent days, the ex-Anambra Governor, Kaduna helmsman and ex-Emir of Kano, asked the federal government to privatize the Government entity. Their suggestion was hailed by a group which said the national oil company has become a burden rather than an asset for economic growth and development. The CNPP said the comments by experts have again brought to the front burner issues bordering on the “corruption and manipulation of figures” by the NNPC. “On the day President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the current management of the NNPC Limited, he practically renamed and finally incorporated corruption in the oil sector”, CNPP Secretary General, Willy Ezugwu said in a statement. Ezugwu accused the NNPC of claiming “questionable annual profit declaration” to blindfold Nigerians and the President, who holds the Minister of Petroleum Resources position. He said within one week, three prominent individuals who should know have questioned the viability of the company and the competence of the leadership. Ezugwu noted that the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate repeatedly took a swipe at the management and asked them to resign. El-Rufai, he added, said though the Group CEO Mele Kyari was trying his best, the company has failed and has no business being in the sector. “NNPC claims that subsidy has taken all the oil revenues, I don’t believe that. Nothing has changed for NNPC other than adding ‘L’ to it for the limited. They are still declaring profits that we don’t see the dividends”, Ezugwu quoted the governor saying. Sanusi, a former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, at the Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency summit, said unbelievable fuel consumption figures were being released by NNPC Limited on daily basis. Noting that Obi, El-Rufai, and Sanusi have vindicated the body, the CNPP reiterated its call for the sack of the current NNPC management team and board to avert the total collapse of the economy. | Conference of Nigeria Political Parties. CNPP, NNPC | https://bit.ly/3VwjwoN | |
| Daily Post Online | 17th October 2022 | Thugs attack Atiku’s supporters at campaign rally in Kaduna | Suspected political thugs have attacked supporters of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar at the ongoing campaign rally in Kaduna State. The former vice president confirmed this in a post on his verified social media handles on Monday. This is coming a few days after thugs attacked supporters of the party in Zamfara State leading to the death of at least one person, while several others were injured. Atiku in the post, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to call supporters of all political parties to order in a bid to tackle reoccurrence of such incident. He wrote, “I have just received emergency reports of attacks on PDP supporters by thugs sponsored to scuttle the ongoing PDP campaign rally in Kaduna State. This is undemocratic and against the Peace Accord all parties signed up for just a few weeks ago. “I urge President Muhammadu Buhari to call on all parties to call their supporters and members to order and to ensure that campaigns, just as with the elections themselves, are kept free, fair and safe”. Casualties recorded during the attack could not be ascertained as of the time of filing this report. | Attack on Atiku's Supporters in Kaduna State, Campaign Rally, Kaduna State | https://bit.ly/3VyStcl | |
| Vanguard Online | 17th October 2022 | Nigerians can’t afford to gamble with APC again – Dino Melaye | Spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Management Committee, Dino Melaye, has said Nigerians can not afford to gamble with the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC again. He stated that Nigerians must severe ties with the APC in the forthcoming 2023 general elections. According to Melaye, APC had plunged Nigerians into mess and caused division across the country without any achievements that were of benefits to the Nigerian masses. In a statement titled, ‘Our country needs healing- Atiku is the balm’, Melaye said the PDP presidential candidate, Abubakar Atiku was the right man for the job in 2023. He said, if elected President in 2023, Atiku would instill and enable all Nigerians to have a sense, as well as a feeling, that they are members of the same country. The Kogi lawmaker described Atiku as the soothing balm for the healing of “the broken trust, the battered economy and the basterdised political fabric of Nigeria.” | Dino Melaye, Spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Management Committee, Atiku Abubakar, Campaign | https://bit.ly/3Sgwww8 | |
| Vanguard Online | 17th October 2022 | APC owns ‘fake news’ factory, Tambuwal alleges | The Director General of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Council and Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwual, has alleged that the All Progressives Congress owns a fake news factory. He levelled the allegations while addressing a crowd of party supporters at a campaign rally in Kaduna, on Monday.Tambuwual said, “Some people said PDP has suspended its rallies in Nigeria, we issued a statement that, it was fake news manufactured from the fake news laboratory of the APC and we are here in Kaduna today. We have also just witnessed another effort to throw spanners in our works, they will fail and they have failed, and they will continue to fail by the Grace of God. They do not want us to continue because they are not prepared, they have not even constituted their presidential campaign council, not to talk of flagging off their campaign because of infighting. They are busy fighting themselves. We are here in Kaduna, the political capital of Northern Nigeria and we are indeed very happy to be here. | Director General of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Council, Aminu Tambuwal, Sokoto State, Kaduna | https://bit.ly/3gf5doz | |
| Punch Online | 13th October 2022 | Insecurity may hamper elections in North-West, South-East – INEC | The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, has said insecurity may hamper elections in the North-West and South-East states Yakubu said the insecurity in the country was concerning, noting that the security challenge which was hitherto restricted to the North-East region has now spread to other parts of the country. For over two decades, Nigeria has battled the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East but this has evolved into banditry in the North-West and killings in the South-East allegedly perpetrated by Eastern Security Network, the militant arm of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra. According to INEC, over 41 attacks, excluding have been carried out against its offices across 14 states since the 2019 general election, with the South-East recording 13 attacks. The attacks which started in Abia on May 9, 2021, spread to Enugu and Ebonyi, with three incidents each; Imo, with two attacks; and Anambra and Abia with one each and in Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom states. In all, the electoral body recorded nine attacks in 2019, 21 incidents in 2020 and over 12 as of May 2021. It also lost 9,836 smart card readers, 345 ballot boxes, and 135 voting cubicles, among other assets. But speaking in Washington on Tuesday, the INEC chairman, however, said he has received assurances from the service chiefs that they would secure the voting environment during the 2023 polls. Yakubu spoke at an event organised by the National Endowment for Democracy and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems at the NED Headquarters, Washington DC, United States of America. He also acknowledged the issue of political thuggery which he said was organized by some of the political actors. In his keynote address made available to journalists on Wednesday, the INEC chairman said, “Are there concerns about the 2023 general election? I’ll be the last to say there are no concerns. The first concern is the perennial issue of insecurity in different parts of the country, compounded by the traditional issues of thuggery during elections organized by some of the political actors. “I say it is a perennial issue because, at the end of the day, it is nothing new. However, the dimension of the insecurity is concerning in the sense that in the past, it was localized or confined to a particular part of the country, the northeast. But now, it is more widespread and we are keeping our eyes, particularly on the northwest and the southeastern parts of the country.’’Speaking further on other concerns, he stated, ‘’Elections are conducted by human beings. We worry about the security of our officials, voters and the materials to be deployed. Without them, we cannot conduct elections. We have spoken to the security agencies and they have assured us that the situation will improve before the elections. So, fingers crossed. Those who are supposed to secure the environment have assured us that they will secure the environment for us to conduct elections. Our responsibility is to conduct elections.” | Insecurity, 2023 General Election, INEC, INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu | https://bit.ly/3VnwlSj | |
| Punch Online | 13th October 2022 | APC approves Tinubu’s manifesto, justifies campaign delay | The spokesman of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, says the manifesto of the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has been reviewed and approved by the party’s stakeholders. Keyamo disclosed this while addressing journalists immediately after Wednesday’s meeting which Tinubu had with the Progressive Governors Forum, the Presidential Campaign Council and members of the APC National Working Committee. He said, “What we did today was to review the draft of our manifesto. Our candidate does not operate on his own. He tries to carry everybody along. And so he presented a draft of the manifesto to all the stakeholders to look at it today. “Guess what? Almost all the stakeholders gave that draft more than 90 per cent pass. When asked if a date has been picked for Tinubu and the party to unveil the manifesto, Keyamo said they were not under any pressure to do that. He said an ad-hoc committee has been set up to trim the policy document into a simple abridge version for the average Nigerian to comprehend. “We are not going to take the thunder away from our candidate. He (Tinubu) is going to present to Nigerians on a particular day and occasion. That is what we want to do. When asked why the APC stakeholders and the candidate are yet to decide on an appropriate date for the PCC inauguration and campaign kick-off, Keyamo admitted that a definite date has not been chosen. He said, “You know some parts of the structure of our campaign involve a presidential diary. So I have said it before that our campaign is not like those who operate kick-and-start with their small vehicles. Our campaign is like manoeuvring a 50-tonne trailer into the highway. Once we hit the highway, people will know. The president is the chairman of our campaign council and we are going to consider his diary in picking the date. We have all virtually agreed that we are going to hit the street very soon". | Festus Keyamo, Spokesman of APC Presidential Campaign Council, Approval of Manifesto, Bola Tinubu | https://bit.ly/3CuepNg | |
| Nation Online | 13th October 2022 | PDP crisis: Atiku drafts Mark, Ibori, Odili to ‘beg’ Wike | One-time Senate President David Mark, former governors James Ibori (Delta) and Peter Odili (Rivers) are the later emissaries drafted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to plead with aggrieved Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, it was learnt yesterday. The opposition party yesterday pulled the brake on its scheduled rallies in three states, barely three days after it launched its presidential campaign in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. Wike and his allies in the Ayu-must-go campaign boycotted the campaign kick-off.The Rivers’ helmsman and his allies, including governors Samuel Ortom (Benue), Seyi Makinde (Oyo); Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) and Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) opted out of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, following the refusal of Dr. Iyorchia Ayu to quit as the opposition party’s National Chairman.It was learnt that the lingering rift between Atiku and the anti-Ayu elements triggered the temporarily suspension of the presidential campaign. The campaign rally was suspended at the instance of Atiku, who, party sources said, drafted the three prominent PDP stakeholders to intervene in the standoff. The campaign was suspended to give the three new “arbitrators” a chance to undertake and conclude their assignment, a source told this reporter. The rally, scheduled to hold in Kebbi yesterday was cancelled. Also shelved are the rallies billed for today in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital and another scheduled for Kaduna, Kaduna State, have been rescheduled Consequently, the campaign rally, which was rescheduled.One of the PDP presidential campaign spokespersons, Kola Ologbondiyan, confirmed the cancellation of the rally in the three Northwest states. Ologbondiyan, in a telephone chat with our correspondent, said the rally scheduled to hold in Kaduna tomorrow, has been shifted to Monday. He, however, could not give definite dates for the rally in Kebbi and Zamfara. | PDP Crisis, David Mark, James Ibori, Peter Odili, Boycott | https://bit.ly/3g5hICQ | |
| Daily Trust Online | 13th October 2022 | CJN To Politicians: Stop Mounting Pressure On Judiciary | The new Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, yesterday took the oath of office with advice to politicians in the country to stop mounting pressure on the judicial arm of government. Speaking with State House reporters after sworn-in President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the CJN said the politicians and citizens should allow the judiciary to function to its optimal best, reminding them that the law is not static. He said: “Politicians should allow the judiciary to function. Law is not static and that’s why you have seen that the National Assembly continues to amend the laws and it is the laws that the courts apply to the facts available. We shall continue to do justice if only Nigerians will allow us to perform and function without any pressure.”Justice Ariwoola assured Nigerians that he would not let them down with his appointment while promising to do his utmost best to improve the standard of the judicial arm of government. | CJN, Olukayode Ariwoola, Judiciary | https://bit.ly/3yDTLZP | |
| The Cable | 13th October 2022 | ‘My opponents are noisemakers’ — Sanwo-Olu kicks off re-election campaign | Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos state governor, has described his opponents in the 2023 governorship election as noisemakers. Kicking off his re-election campaign on Wednesday at the Ehingbeti Summit in Lagos, Sanwo-Olu said candidates of other political parties know little about governance. During the event, the governor also launched the Lagos State Development Plan 2052, a 30-year plan to chart a growth path for the state. Sanwo-Olu said he believes the people of Lagos state will do the right thing in next year’s election by re-electing him. He said: “Today is the day that INEC officially flagged off campaigns for governorship and House of Assembly elections. And there is no better time for me to do my official flag-off than at an economic summit like this where we are talking about our city, our people and Greater Lagos. What we are talking about is real; people can feel and they can see it. “Some people can come here to claim anything. Some candidates would go about and make a lot of noise. They don’t even know what governance is all about. We have done a lot and people can feel it. People know this is a government that works for them. It is not about us; it is really to create that enabling environment for them (the citizens) to do well. Lagos State has witnessed prosperity in the last three and half years even in the COVID environment and that is the trajectory in which we want to continue. So, tell the noisemakers that after the noise, there would be calm and Lagosians will truly understand what we are talking about. For me, there can never be any better campaign; there can never be any better conversation and there can never be any better means of showing and showcasing what this government has done for the past three and half years than what you all have seen here in the last two days. I know there are a lot of other people that are out and shouting. Let them shout but after the shouting, there would be calmness because indeed you Lagosians know the right thing to do. And you will do the right thing by voting for us and re-elect us to continue with the great work that we’re doing.” | Sanwo Olu, Lagos State, Re-election Campaign, APC | https://bit.ly/3TglCHA | |
| Vanguard Online | 13th October 2022 | 2023: CUPP, CSOs, ethnic youth leaders allege plot to stop electronic transmission of results | Opposition political parties in Nigeria, Civil Society Organisations, Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, and ethnic youth leaders in the country have alleged plot to stop electronic transmission of results in the 2023 general elections. They also claimed to have uncovered plans to force the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to deactivate the Bi-modal Voter Accreditation System, BIVAS, from the INEC server during the elections. The groups at a joint briefing in Abuja yesterday, alleged that some governors were rooting for a leadership change in the commission. National chairmen of registered and deregistered political parties, the opposition coalition CUPP, and civil society groups numbering over 50, along with hundreds of their members, attended the press briefing, which also had in attendance leading national chairmen and representatives of opposition parties and chieftains from Labour Party, LP; Action Alliance, AA; Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and African Democratic Congress, ADC, among others. Reading the text of the briefing, spokesman of CUPP, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, insisted that there was immense pressure on the leadership of INEC to deactivate the BIVAS from its server. “The pressure has been resisted by INEC, hence the plot to cause a leadership change in the electoral management body which will consume top officials, including the chairman and few national commissioners still insisting on the use of the BIVAS,” he said. Ugochinyere said the group had “also resolved to immediately approach the court to seek judicial redress to ensure the electoral process is not derailed.” | CUPP, INEC, Electronic Trandmission of Results | https://bit.ly/3rSApMK | |
| Vanguard Online | 13th October 2022 | Group wants Atiku to revisit presidential campaign council’s composition | A political support group within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has advised the party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to revisit the composition of the Presidential Campaign Council. The group stated that this became necessary to avoid the mistake made in 2019 where the Director-General of the Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation, Chief Gbenga Daniel, defected to another party. The group stated in a protest letter to Abubakar that he should make Chief Raymond Dokpesi the Director-General of the Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCO) 2023. The group which goes by the name “Elders Forum for Atiku 2023’’ titled its letter to Abubakar as: “Protest against the composition of directors in the national campaign management committee.’’ The letter was signed by its National Coordinator, Pa Lawrence Okojie and the National Secretary, Mr A.K Peters. | PDP Presidential Campaign Council's Composition | https://bit.ly/3RXXBUo | |
| The Cable | 12th October 2022 | Obi: Ending insecurity is key to bringing down food inflation | Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), says addressing insecurity will tackle inflation in the country. Speaking in a BBC interview aired on Tuesday, Obi said Nigeria’s top priority today is security, adding that it’s an issue that requires urgent attention. He said the country has been hit by high food inflation, which can be tackled by improving security. In its consumer price index (CPI) report for August 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said food inflation had risen to 23.12 percent, representing a 2.82 percent increase when compared to 20.30 percent recorded in August 2021. The inflation rate is the highest since October 2005. “The number one priority today in Nigeria is the issue of security because it has become an essential issue for Nigeria,” Obi said. “You can’t talk about being a country unless you are secure, unless your citizens are secure. So, it’s an issue that must be dealt with decisively.“It’s also something that if you deal with today, you can deal with inflation, because the worst part of inflation we are dealing with is food inflation. So, if you secure the country, your farmers will go back, they will produce more and the food inflation will come down. We have to immediately review and restructure the entire security architecture, make it responsive and responsible. Responsive is that they will deal with issues as quickly as possible. Responsible is that somebody is in charge and if he’s not doing it, don’t wait, the person will go.” | Peter Obi, Campaign, Food Inflation, Insecurity | https://bit.ly/3Tbsi9O | |
| The Cable | 12th October 2022 | ‘LP can’t win’ — Shagari, ex-minister, says he rejected offer to be Obi’s running mate | Mukhtar Shagari, a former minister of water resources, says he was asked by the Labour Party (LP) to be the vice-presidential candidate of the party. He said this on Tuesday in an interview on Channels Television. Shagari, a former deputy governor of Sokoto, had dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in May 2022, citing “series of betrayals”. He left the PDP hours after Obi also announced his resignation from the party. Shagari, who had also earlier indicated his interest in contesting the governorship of his state, has, however, since rejoined the PDP. Speaking on Tuesday on if the PDP may have benefitted from Obi’s current popularity if the party had zoned the presidency to the south, the former deputy governor said he believes his party and its candidate — Atiku Abubakar — have what it takes to win the 2023 presidential election. “I was one of the first people Labour Party contacted if I would accept to be the vice-presidential candidate of Peter Obi. But at the end of the day, I told them that I would not be able to leave my party, because I believe in the philosophy of my party,” he said. “I believe in what my party stands for Nigeria; and I also believe that the Labour Party will not be able to beat my party at any election. What is happening? So many young people as you have said. Who are those young people? I asked the Labour Party members that contacted me to tell me who really is the chairman of the Labour Party in Sokoto state? Who are the candidates of the Labour Party in Sokoto state? Who is contesting for senate? Who is contesting for governorship and so forth? I did not get any satisfactory answer. “The issue is at any point in time, people will say ‘this man has come with so many lofty ideas and the rest of it’. Nigerians are not looking for lofty ideas. Nigerians are looking for solutions to the problems of this country in the areas of economy, security, infrastructure, poverty alleviation, health.” | Mukhtar Shagari, Offer from Labour Party | https://bit.ly/3elMqr9 | |
| Daily Post Online | 12th October 2022 | 2023: Atiku, Tinubu trade tackles, engage in name-calling as race heats up | As the 2023 presidential election draws closer, the political atmosphere is becoming tense with camps of presidential candidates engaging in verbal attacks. The tense atmosphere is visible in the camps of the leading candidates – Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP. DAILY POST observed that supporters of these frontline presidential candidates have increased the intensity of their verbal attacks towards each other. Severally, followers of Obi have been accused of insulting and bullying supporters of other presidential candidates online. Some political stakeholders had described Obi’s supporters as intolerable of others. Just last week, the spokesman of the APC presidential campaign council, Festus Keyamo, likened the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to a conductor applying for a driver’s job. Tackling Keyamo over his comment, Atiku’s media aide, Paul Ibe, also likened Tinubu to a drug baron applying to head an anti-narcotics agency. Condemning the verbal attacks, Chuks Ibegbu, a former spokesman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, urged Tinubu, Atiku, and Obi’s camps to address politics of issues. He urged the camps of the frontline presidential candidates to jettison the politics of rancor. | Campaigns, 2023 Elections, PDP, APC | https://bit.ly/3MpweBy | |
| Daily Post Online | 12th October 2022 | 2023: INEC deletes 2.7 million ineligible registrants over double registration | The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Tuesday said it has discovered 2.7 million cases of double registration carried out during the recently concluded Continuous Voter Registration. The commission said that the affected persons have been deleted from the voter register. This was disclosed by the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, at an event tagged ‘National Endowment for Democracy’ held in Washington DC, United States. Yakubu also raised concerns about security challenges across the country, while assuring stakeholders that the commission will do its best. He said “It is a perennial issue because, at the end of the day, it is not new but the dimension of the insecurity is new in the sense that in the past, it was localised or confined to a particular part of the country – the North-East but now, it is more widespread. “We are keeping our eyes, particularly, on the North-West and the South-Eastern part of the country. Elections are conducted by human beings. We worry about the security of our officials, materials, and even the voters themselves. Without them, elections cannot be conducted.” | INEC, Ineligible Rgistrants, Double Registration | https://bit.ly/3EBEXPh | |
| Punch Online | 12th October 2022 | Political campaigns: PWDs group requests sign language interpreters | The Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities has urged political parties to provide sign language interpreters during their campaigns for 2023 polls. The Gombe Zonal Coordinator, JONAPWD, Mr Yusuf Yahaya, said this in a statement in Gombe on Wednesday. Yahaya said the use of sign language interpreters would ensure effective communication of party manifestoes to the electorate especially Persons With Disabilities. “Dearth of sign language interpreters during campaigns has made some of our members to stay away from voting. “Sign language interpreters are highly needed to help PWDs to participate in the electoral process. “PWDs often find it difficult to partake in campaigns and other political activities in view of the fact that they are not being carried along. “Providing sign language interpreters during campaigns, media interviews, and including them in the campaign and committees, will give PWDs a sense of belonging and motivate them to vote during election,’’ he said. Yahaya said PWDs deserved information on the plans and agenda of political parties and their candidates, adding that this was the essence of campaigns. “But many do not get that and may not participate in voting,” the JONAPWD official said. | Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, JONAPWD, Yusuf Yahaya, Gombe State, PWDs, Political Campaigns, Sign Language Interpreters | https://bit.ly/3Cupr4Y | |
| Punch Online | 12th October 2022 | Ensure vote counts, APC tasks INEC | Head of the 2023 general elections, the All Progressive Congress, Sokoto State chapter has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure most popular candidates emerged victorious in the polls. The state Chairman of the party, Isa Sadiq Achida, gave the advice in his remarks while addressing INEC officials who were in the party secretariat to meet with candidates. Achida, while commending INEC as well as the National Assembly for enacting the new electoral act said the new law was aimed at improving the country’s electoral process and advised the electoral umpire to also live by their words. He further advised INEC to be neutral with the recruitment of the ad-hoc staff, saying information gathered by the party confirms that some bad elements have already infiltrated INEC in the state. He said the leadership of the party in the state had advised every member of the party not to retaliate as billboards of the party is allegedly being destroyed in the state. The head of the voter registration of INEC, Sokoto State office, Abori Takai, while addressing APC candidates at the party secretariat, confirmed that candidates seeking elective positions have been given a limit on their spending on the campaign. Takai in his address confirmed that every candidate seeking the presidential seat must not spend beyond one billion naira, while governorship candidates spending should not exceed the sum of 500,000,000 Naira. He further explained that for a senatorial seat, a candidate is expected not to spend beyond 100 million naira while a House of Representatives candidate’s spending is expected not to go beyond 70 million nairas. He explained that violators of the section of the electoral act are entitled to 500,000 naira fines or 9 years imprisonment. He assured that the commission will conduct statistics of all the spending including billboards, radio jingles, and newspaper advertisements among others to ascertain how much money is spent by each political party. | INEC, APC Sokoto State Chapter | https://bit.ly/3Cor3xj | |
| Vanguard Online | 12th October 2022 | 2023: APC dead in Oyo – Makinde | Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, yesterday, lambasted the All Progressives Congress, APC in the state, saying the political agenda and candidates of the party were dead on arrival as far as the state was concerned. The governor, in a statement by PDP’s Publicity Secretary in the state, Akeem Olatunji, described Oyo APC as not only laughable, but also devoid of any atom of shame, empathy, and remorse for the pain, emotional and psychological trauma caused the people of the state for eight interrupted years. The reaction came on the heels of APC’s statement by its state publicity secretary, Olawale Sadare, saying the opposition’s desperation to take over the state was being fuelled by a lack of access to the state coffers. The statement reads: “If Makinde was at the very least power drunk as shamefully alleged by our noisy neighbours, many of its members would have been languishing in jail by now. Governor Makinde, a peaceful and peace-loving person epitomised, has remained calm even in the face of unprovoked verbal assaults and vituperative remarks from the APC in the state against his person and personality outside of government.Could any opposition party member or members dare half of what APC is recklessly doing now with its government between 2011 and 2019? But we believe this is the beauty of democracy.It was on record how the then APC governor publicly bullied retirees and pensioners who demanded what rightfully belonged to them and even compared them with dead people, it was also on record how the APC government despite its monumental failure in education shamefully disgraced itself while engaging in a needless face-off with protesting LAUTECH students after over two whole years of being on strike.” | APC, PDP, Seyi Makine, Oyo State, Akeem Olatunji, Olawale Sadare | https://bit.ly/3TdVNaV | |
| Punch Online | 7th October 2022 | Tinubu returns from UK, prepares for campaigns | There was jubilation in the camp of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Thursday when he returned to the country. While he was away, reports were suggesting that Tinubu was ill and could be receiving medical attention in London. The situation forced the candidate and his handlers to release a series of photographs and videos to dispel the rumour of his ill health. Elated party chiefs and loyalists were at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Thursday to receive Tinubu. They were led by his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima; and a former APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, among others. The PUNCH learnt that Tinubu will immediately engage in a series of political consultations. The former Lagos State governor is expected to host members of his Presidential Campaign Council, Progressive Governors Forum and the National Working Committee of the APC in separate meetings to discuss the contentious campaign list. A former Minister of Communications and Director General of the Asiwaju Tinubu-Shettima Coalition for Good Governance, Adebayo Shittu, told The PUNCH that the wild jubilation that greeted Tinubu’s arrival was enough to make some people cover their faces in shame. “They probably thought he won’t return to the country. I told you earlier he is coming today, didn’t I? Let us even assume he went for medical treatment abroad, should that be an issue? His fitness video and the eventual return have put an end to all their speculations,” he said. Another member of the PCC media team, Biodun Ajiboye, told our correspondent that he didn’t understand what the euphoria and fixation that greeted the candidate’s arrival were about. Are they expecting Asiwaju won’t return before?” he asked. | Bola Tinubu, APC, Campaigns | https://bit.ly/3T0AVE7 | |
| The Guardian Newspaper | 7th October 2022 | 2023 polls: Northern CAN accuses APC government of using hunger, poverty against Nigerians | The Northern Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 northern states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of using hunger and poverty as weapons against Nigerians ahead of the 2023 general elections. The northern CAN leaders said that the economic poverty in the country would have a direct influence on the voting pattern of the pauperised electorate in 2023. The northern CAN, in a communique jointly signed by its Chairman, Yakubu Pam and Secretary-General, Sunday Oibe, at a meeting held in Kaduna, said: “Those who mismanaged the economy are using hunger and poverty as weapons as 2023 approaches. The meeting deliberated on a wide range of issues affecting Christians in the North and the state of the nation. Some of the issues deliberated upon include the harsh economic situation in the country, which has brought about mass poverty and hunger among millions of Nigeria, the 2023 general elections, insecurity and the prolonged strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government. “Our weak economy has thrown millions of Nigerians into abject poverty and hunger, thereby making life becoming a living hell as people struggle to make ends meet. Almost on a daily basis, prices of food and essential items are on the increase. Many families can barely get one square meal in a day. The reality on the ground is evident for all to see. Poverty and hunger affect all spheres of life. It fuels criminality and crime. It affects education and quality healthcare. Hunger affects citizens’ political choices. Already, those who mismanaged the economy are using hunger as a weapon as the 2023 general elections approach. We call on governments at all levels to address the problem of poverty and hunger in Nigeria.” | Northern Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Hunger and Poverty | Page 30 | |
| This Day Newspaper | 7th October 2022 | PDP Appoints Directors for National Campaign Management Committee | The leadership of the presidential campaign organisation (PCO) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has approved the appointment of Directors and Deputy Directors for its National Campaign Management Committee (NCMC). A statement by Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, the Director General of the campaigns, yesterday listed the directors of the campaign directorate to include Director, Training, Austin Opara; Director, Strategic Communications, Dele Momodu; Director, Field Operations, Umar M. Bature, Director, Finance, Abdullahi Hussaini MaiBasira and Director, Security & Intelligence, Brig-Gen. Koko Essien, Rtd. Others were the Director, Support Group, Mrs. Baraka Sani; Director, Admin, Ibrahim Bashir; Director, Legal Affairs, Kamaldeen Ajibade; Director, Technical, Nurudeen Taoheed Ademola (Youth), Director; Election Management, Prof. Iyorwuese Hagher; Director, Research, Dr. Sam Amadi, and Director, Monitoring & Evaluation, Mrs. Sanyaolu Modupeola. Other directors included that for International Affairs, Amb. Ahmed Magaji, Director; Voter Intelligence & Strategy, Chief Osita Chidoka; Director, Diaspora Group, Prof. Isah Odidi; Deputy Director, Election Management (South), Rt. Hon. Tolford Ongolo and Deputy Director, Election Management (North), Hon. Chile Igbawua Tambuwal called on the directors, “to please contact the DDG, Administration, Prof. Adewale Oladipo for further details.” He urged them so stay committed to the campaigns. | Directors for National Campaign Management Committee, NCMC, PCO, PDP | Page 10 | |
| This Day Newspaper | 7th October 2022 | Blame Etiebet if Akpabio Loses Senatorial Election, Group Tells APC | A group within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State, the Akwa Ibom Democratic Forum(ADF), has urged the party to hold the former Minister of Petroleum, Chief Don Etiebet, responsible if the former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio fails the Akwa Ibom North West senatorial election in 2023. Etiebet, a member, Board of Trustees(BoT) of the APC had few days ago threatened to ensure that Akpabio loses the 2023 senatorial election if he refuses to step down. He said it is wrong for the elder statesman to argue that it was the turn of Abak federal constituency not Ikot Ekpene federal constituency, where Akpabio hails from, to occupy the red chambers for the district. The Director of Media and Publicity of the group, Mr Joe Iniodu, who spoke on its behalf, said Etiebet was instigating a revolt against the APC and Akpabio’s senatorial aspiration. In a statement titled “Etiebet’s Gloomy Prognosis”, Iniodu said it is regrettable of the action of Don Etiebet, which is against the interest of the party he is a BoT member. “Much as these views are his entitlements and within the limits of his rights, they have the likelihood to rankle and arouse public sensibilities in manners that are not consistent with our age-long values,” the group noted. In his reaction, Etiebet said the country is now in campaign mode, hence he has decided to stand on the path of truth, justice, and equity.“In 2007 when we fought a very keenly contested election for Godswill Akpabio to succeed Obong Victor Attah as Governor, we Annang leaders had to force Abak-5 senatorial aspirants, because it was their turn, to step down for Senator Aloysius Etok from Ini/Ikono Federal Constituency, so that Ini/Ikono can produce a Senator which was impossible ordinarily in order for them to vote for an Annang man, Godswill Akpabio, to succeed Victor Attah as Governor as he didn’t support him. “That was a sacrifice for Godswill Akpabio. Abak/Etim Ekpo/Ika Federal Constituency has sacrificed their turn three times since 1999- in 2007 to Senator Aloysius Etok, in 2015 again to Senator Godswill Akpabio and in 2019 to Senator Christopher Ekpenyong. It is only expedient and good naturalness that we should allow them to go this time. That’s the stand of Abak-5,” he stressed. | Chief Don Etiebet, Godswill Akpabio, 2023 Senatorial Election | Page 8 | |
| The Guardian Newspaper | 7th October 2022 | Ex-female reps member joins Imo guber race, vows to outperform Uzodimma | Former member of the House of Representatives, Juliet Awa-Obasi, has indicated interest to run for Imo State governorship in 2024 on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform. Obasi represented Isu, Nwangele, Nkwerre and Njaba Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives for two terms, from 2003 to 2007 and 2007 to 2011. Speaking to newsmen in Owerri, yesterday, at an event where she officially declared her intention, Obasi said she would outperform Governor Hope Uzodimma, if elected. She assured citizens of her preparedness to lift the state to a greater level of administration, to offer good governance, and quality leadership and introduce a level- playing ground for stakeholders and citizens of the state. She said: “Though Uzodimma is on track with good ideas, Imo people need more from a woman that has survived in complex environments to do a better job. I have the capacity and vision to lead Imo selflessly. I want to appeal to Imo people to encourage a woman to bring new ideas. A woman, who had served as a member of the House of Representatives and in all works of life; and has experience in all areas. I have lived in Nigeria, as well as travelled out of the country. Therefore, Imo people need somebody like me to lead them at this time.” | Juliet Awa-Obasi, Governorship Candidate, APC, Imo State | Page 23 | |
| Daily Trust Newspaper | 7th October 2022 | Primaries: Court Sacks Ogun APC Candidates, Upholds PDP’s Aderinokun | A Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Thursday nullified the primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that produced Isiaq Abiodun Akinlade as the House of Representatives candidate for Yewa South/Ipokia Federal Constituency. The court also nullified the election that produced Biyi Adeleye as the APC House of Assembly candidate for Remo North State constituency. In another judgement, the court upheld the primary that produced Olumide Aderinokun as the PDP candidate for Ogun Central Senatorial district. The presiding judge, O.O Oguntoyinbo delivered the judgements in different cases decided on Thursday. Oguntoyinbo declared the election of Akinlade as House of Representative candidate “irregular, null and void.” The suit was filed by an aggrieved aspirant, Chief Michael Adebayo Adeleke against three defendants – the APC, Isiaq Abiodun Akinlade and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The plaintiff, had through his counsel, George Oyeniyi, prayed the court to declare that the primary election conducted on May 27th 2022 at Orona Hall, Ilaro to select candidate for House of Representatives did not follow the party’s guidelines. The judge, in a separate judgement also nullified the election that produced Biyi Adeleye as the APC House of Assembly candidate for Remo North State constituency. The incumbent lawmaker, Osho Solomon had dragged APC, INEC and Adeleye before the court challenging the primary election. Delivering the ruling in another case, the judge upheld Aderinokun’s election as the PDP candidate for Ogun central. | Ogun APC Candidates, Court Suit, Court Ruling, House of Representatives Aspirants, Ogun State | Page 30 | |
| Daily Trust Newspaper | 7th October 2022 | Tinubu’s Campaign To Focus On APC’s Achievements — Keyamo | The spokesman for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, has said the presidential candidate of the party will base his campaign on the achievements of the party. Keyamo, who doubles as the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, argued that the party had achieved so much in the last seven years and could not shy away from campaigning on those achievements. The party chieftain stated this when he appeared on Arise TV’s morning programme on Thursday, monitored by our correspondent. He also dismissed insinuations from various quarters that the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was suffering from failing health. According to him, Seyi Tinubu, the son of the party’s presidential candidate, spoke to him about his father’s health. Keyamo said Seyi told him that Tinubu was asleep when they spoke on the phone on Thursday morning, adding that the former Lagos State governor was hale and hearty. He maintained that it is not mandatory for Tinubu to issue statements about his health and whereabouts because he is not the president. | Festus Keyamo, Bola Tinubu, Interview | Page 31 | |
| Daily Trust Newspaper | 6th October 2022 | APC Crisis: Govs, NWC Meet, Fail To Agree On Campaign Kick-Off | Governors who are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday met with the National Working Committee (NWC) and other critical stakeholders including a former national chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole. The meeting, which was held at the APC national headquarters in Abuja, however, failed to reach a consensus on when the party would kick-off its 2023 presidential campaign, Daily Trust gathered. Daily Trust reported yesterday that the ruling party was yet to kick-off its 2023 presidential campaign, seven days after the ban on public campaigns was lifted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). INEC had lifted the ban on political campaigns on September 28, but the party is still neck-deep in a crisis over the composition of the council as its critical stakeholders, including governors, were aggrieved over a 422-member list released recently by the secretary of the campaign council, James Faleke. Sequel to the acrimony that dogged the list, the Director General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council and Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong, in a statement, announced the postponement of their inauguration. But in an interview with newsmen after the meeting, Adamu, who was asked to state when the party would constitute, inaugurate its team and commence campaigns said, “Don’t be faster than your shadow.” He added, “The fact of the matter is, we as a party, as APC, we will determine when we will do that as long as it is within the framework of INEC’s guidelines.” The Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF) and Kebbi State governor, Senator Atiku Bagudu, however, said the issue would be sorted out towards achieving victory for the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and his running mate, Kashim Shettima. | NWC, APC, Campaigns, Delayed campaign kickoff | Page 24 | |
| Daily Trust Newspaper | 6th October 2022 | 837 Candidates Battle For 28 Gov’ship Seats | The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said 837 gov’ship and 10,231 state assembly candidates will contest in 2023. Daily Trust reports that governorship elections will be held in 28 states. Governorship elections in Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Kogi, Imo, Ekiti, Ondo and Osun states have been pushed out of the general election circles. The National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC, Festus Okoye, said this on Wednesday in a statement. According to him, pursuant to Section 32(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 and item 8 of the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 general elections, the commission on Tuesday published the final list of candidates for state elections (governorship and state assembly constituencies). | INEC, 2023 Governorship Election, 2023 State Assembly Elections, Festus Okoye | Page 24 | |
| The Guardian Newspaper | 6th October 2022 | Akwa Ibom APC has no gov candidate for 2023 elections, INEC declares | All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State has no governorship candidate for the general elections next year, according to an announcement by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). INEC’s announcement is contained in its publication of governorship candidates posted on a notice board at its office along Udo Udoma Avenue in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital. According to the list, which was signed by INEC’s Secretary, Rose Oriaran Anthony, Umo Eno of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was cleared for the governorship election and his name published alongside Akon Eyakenyi as the deputy governorship candidate, but that of the APC was left blank. The commission did not provide reasons why the party did not have a candidate for the governorship poll in the state but checks showed that APC has been embroiled in an intra-party crisis, which resulted in two separate governorship primaries. A major contenders and former Interim National Secretary of the APC, John James Udoedehe, in the aftermath of the crisis that greeted the party’s primaries, moved to the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) as its governorship candidate and his name has been published by the commission. The other contender, Ita Solomon Enang, former aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, is currently in court, challenging the alleged nomination of Akan Udofia as the party’s governorship candidate. Enang had claimed that Udofia was a governorship aspirant on the ticket of the PDP two days to the APC governorship primary, adding that Udofia should not have been nominated to fly the party’s flag. With the absence of the APC in the governorship election, observers say it will likely be a three-horse race between the PDP governorship candidate, Eno, the candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Akpan, and the governorship candidate of the NNPP, Udoedehe. | Akwa Ibom State, APC, No APC Governorship Candidate, INEC | Page 7 | |
| The Guardian Newspaper | 6th October 2022 | Atiku receives Bauchi defectors, boasts PDP remains strongest political platform | The crisis confronting it notwithstanding, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has asserted that the main opposition political group remains the strongest platform in Nigeria. He spoke, yesterday, while receiving defectors from other parties in Bauchi State. PDP has been witnessing internal crisis, involving Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike, National Chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu and Abubakar. However, all governors and PDP chieftains loyal to Wike were conspicuously absent at the Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium – the venue of the event. Abubakar said: “There is no better (political) party in this country other than PDP. We are the oldest, strongest and largest. That is why I want to congratulate Governor Bala Mohammed for the wonderful achievement and I believe that when we kick-start the real presidential campaign, we will witness a larger turnout than this. “I congratulate and welcome our worthy decampees, especially the former deputy governor (Audu Sule Katagum) and those who held various positions in the last APC administration. I congratulate the governor, the party and the people of Bauchi.” In his remarks, Governor Mohammed assured the presidential candidate of victory in next year’s polls, stating that the decampees were convinced by his leadership style and love for the former vice president. The governor advised Abubakar to disregard speculations of a divided PDP in Bauchi, saying it is the handiwork of mischievous people. | Defectors, PDP, Bauchi State | Page 5 | |
| This Day Newspaper | 6th October 2022 | 2023: Atiku Strikes New Deal With Women, Youths, Concedes 60 Percent | In its determination to consolidate, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, yesterday, struck a new deal with women and youth populations, and pledged to concede 60 per cent of his cabinet membership to them, if he was elected the president next year. Atiku, who, therefore, charged his women and youth supporters, to go back to their wards and polling units and canvass support for him to win the presidential election, warned that it was important they did so because campaigns were no longer a jamboree. This is as the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party has expressed its resolve to appeal the judgement of the court that ordered a fresh governorship primary election in Ogun State chapter of the party. Atiku, who spoke at the commissioning of the Security, Health and Education (SHE)Campaign office of his wife, Titi Abubakar, said, “Campaigns have started. This time around, campaigns will no longer become a big jamboree. “No, what will happen is the youths and women will go back to their wards and polling units, to ensure that you deliver Atiku/Okowa presidency. You must go back and campaign and ensure that we win and be ready for appointment.” Reiterating his pledge that his administration would consist of over 60 per cent of youths and women as members of his cabinet, Atiku said, “When you return to your wards and polling units, and campaign and we win, hold me to my words. I shall honour this pledge. It is a covenant between me and the women and youths. We must work to deliver the PDP in the next presidential election.” | Campaigns, Atiku Abubakar, Consitution of Cabinet members, Youths and women inclusion | Page 34 | |
| This Day Newspaper | 6th October 2022 | Police Warn Politicians against Recruiting, Arming Thugs for Campaigns | The Kaduna state police command yesterday warned politicians against recruiting and arming thugs for campaigns for the 2023 general elections. The command also warned against the removal or defacing of political opponents’ posters and banners as well as pasting of banners on public buildings. The Kaduna State Police Commissioner, Mr. Yekini Ayoku, sounded the warning at a meeting with leaders of the political parties in the state and other stakeholders. He said the law prohibits the use of non-state security outfits and the bearing or use of weapons such as dane guns, swords, daggers, bows, arrows and other dangerous weapons at campaign venues. He called on political parties and their candidates to focus their campaigns on issues and ideas, noting that “politics is basically a contest of ideas without bitterness.” “You are to eschew violence, hate speech, indecorous languages which have tendency of escalating into chaos. “I have to seriously warn against removal/defacing of opponents’ protesters and banners as I equally remind that there should be no pasting of banners on public buildings as government institutions, schools, hospitals, INEC offices and worship centres. “In planning your campaign itinerary, I require you to submit your campaign schedule/application for security to my office 48 hours prior to such campaigns or rallies for proper harmonisation to avoid clash or convergence of such activities at the same location, day and conflicting timing. “Political parties are strongly advised not to make the mistake of employing the services of thugs and other miscreants in the electoral process. “Parents and guardians are equally warned to caution their children and wards into beings used for thuggery. According to him, “violators, regardless of their status, will be arrested and dealt with without mercy in accordance with the provisions of the relevant laws.” | Campaigns, Nigeria Police, Kaduna State Police, Warning on recruiting thugs and non-state security outfits | Page 37 | |
| The Cable | 6th October 2022 | State police, zero corruption… Peter Obi speaks on his agenda for Nigeria | Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), says his administration will show zero tolerance for corruption if elected in 2023. Speaking on Wednesday at Harvard University during a consultation visit with Nigerians in the United states, Obi said his administration will offer a new brand of purposeful and transformative leadership in the country. He said the current oil subsidy arrangement in the country is fraught with criminality. “We will offer a new brand of transformative and purposeful leadership. Nigeria is not bereft of good governance ideas and plans,” Obi said.“Hence, the overall goal of my administration shall be to streamline governance, make it more responsive, transformative, effective, less transactional, and therefore efficient and cost-effective. We will have zero tolerance for corruption, we will block leakages and cut the cost of governance. Our total commitment to transparency and accountability in government business is the only credible way to achieve limited to zero corruption. The policies required to fight corruption already exist; it is the political will to implement them that has been lacking. My governance modalities have always been forward looking and will remain so"". Obi said his administration will legislate the establishment of state police, tweak the security architecture of the country, to tackle insecurity. “The relevant security institutions and agencies exist. The supporting national security enabling documents and strategies also exist. We will tweak the security architecture, which will entail reform of the security sector and governance. We will Restructure, Reequip and Reorient the Nigerian Police: This will include 3 level policing- federal, state and community. We will build a compact, robust and ready mobile police force with rapid response deployment capabilities; and legislate the establishment of state police based on community policing. We will raise the population of police officers ratio to a higher level. We will have properly manned, equipped and technologically driven security system with particular emphasis on re-focusing the military on external threats and border protection and police on internal security threats and law enforcement; swift prosecution of criminals, bandits and terrorists; enhanced coordination among security agencies; and upholding the rule of law.” | Campaigns, Peter Obi, Establisment of State police, Peter Obi's agenda for Nigeria | https://bit.ly/3CBJlwc | |
| The Cable | 5th October 2022 | Vote buying: INEC to deploy undercover security operatives to polling units | Ahead of the 2023 elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rolled out measures to curb vote buying and increase transparency. Festus Okoye, INEC’s national commissioner, spoke on the measures on Tuesday during the citizens elections dialogue hosted by YIAGA Africa and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with Channels TV. Okoye said the commission is committed to carrying out its mandate in upholding a transparent and accountable electoral system. “This commission is focused and determined to give Nigerians a good election. In terms of the issue of vote buying, the commission has reconfigured the various polling units to guarantee the secrecy of the votes,” the national commissioner said. “In terms of training of ad-hoc staff, we’ve given them very good training and we’ll continue to train them on how to configure and position the voting cubicle to guarantee the secrecy of the votes. We have also made sure that people do not enter the voting compartments with their mobile phones that can take pictures and we’re also collaborating with the different security agencies under the auspices of the inter-agency consultative committee on election security to make sure that plain clothe security personnel are deployed to some polling units on election day to stem the issue of vote buying and vote selling. “It’s fashionable to grandstand relating to the commitment of the INEC to free, fair and transparent election. But you should also flip back and look at some of the party primaries that some of the political parties conducted and how well they conducted them". | Vote buying, INEC, Undercover security operatives, YIAGA Africa, 2023 General Election | https://bit.ly/3SDIbWG | |
| Punch Online | 5th October 2022 | Ayu chairs stormy meeting, orders NWC members’ probe | A week after his return from medical vacation, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Iyorchia Ayu, Tuesday, presided over a stormy meeting of the National Working Committee of the party. The meeting was also attended by the NWC members demanding the resignation of the national chairman. A national officer of the party, Timothy Osadolor told The PUNCH that the PDP Deputy National Chairman (South), Taofeek Arapaja; (South-South), Dan Orbih, as well as the National Vice Chairman, (South-South), Stella Effah-Attoe all turned out for the emergency meeting. Last week, Arapaja and five others returned various amounts paid into their bank accounts to the party, questioning Ayu’s authority to approve such amounts. The NWC members were said to have returned N122.4m rent stipends paid into their account, alleging that they got the strange bank credit alerts after they queried the whereabouts of over N10bn realised as nomination fees during the party’s primaries. The N10b was said to have been depleted to N1bn in uncertain circumstances, leading to tension in the NWC. They also questioned the morality of the payment against the backdrop of media reports which accused the chairman of bribing NWC members to silence them for demanding accountability over the depletion of the N10b party fund. But a confident Ayu returned to the Wadata plaza headquarters of the party Tuesday where he chaired the NWC meeting. Speaking with The PUNCH, the PDP National Youth Leader, Osadolor explained the agenda of the meeting and the implication of the weighty allegations made by Arapaja and five others. He stated, “They (NWC members) all attended. I am aware that the embarrassment the six officers brought to the party was part of the agenda of the meeting. As a national officer, I am aware that the constitution of the party frowns on any action that will bring the party to public opprobrium, which they have done “The NWC has the character and capacity to institute disciplinary measures against any of its officers. That is on the table.’’Asked if the six officers may be sanctioned, Osadolor stated: “PDP is a democratic party that can checkmate the excesses of its members and put its house in order. “I don’t see how they can commit an infraction on the party’s constitution and go scot-free. There is no way they will escape the disciplinary committee that will be set up today (Tuesday). The issue is too weighty to be swept under the carpet.” Rising from its marathon meeting, the NWC resolved to investigate the allegations that the housing allowance paid to the NWC members was a bribe. According to a statement by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the National Legal Adviser of the party, Kamaludeen Ajibade SAN, will investigate the allegation and report back to the NWC within one week for further action. | Iyorchia Ayu, PDP National Chairman, NWC, PDP Crisis | https://bit.ly/3C2veOU | |
| Daily Trust Online | 5th October 2022 | PDP Crisis: BoT To Convene Emergency Meeting Over Wike’s Position | The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is set to convene an emergency meeting to review the demand of the camp of the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike. The acting chairman of the BoT, Dr Adolphus Nwabara, yesterday led the members to meet with Wike in Port Harcourt, where he (Wike) presented conditions to end the crisis. The camp of Wike has been calling for the resignation of the national chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu, a demand the camp of the presidential candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar, has waved away. Daily Trust reports that the meeting with the BoT members was a sequel to the parley of the five governors in the camp of the Rivers State governor in Enugu at the weekend. Speaking at the end of the meeting, Wabara said the fact-finding team had gotten some information through the briefing it had with Governor Wike and was better informed, adding that the team will return to Abuja and digest all it had gathered from Governor Wike. Wike, in his remarks, said he would never leave the party. He said the BOT members were in the state to sort out internal issues in the party. Meanwhile, the party says it has concluded arrangements to officially commence open campaign for the 2023 elections in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, on Monday. Addressing journalists after inspecting the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Office in Abuja, the Director General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Aminu Tambuwal, said only Atiku has shown that he is ready to govern the country. The Sokoto State governor said only PDP has inaugurated its campaign council and was set to officially commence campaign, unlike the other political parties which, he noted, were not ready. He also said PDP remained the party to beat across the country and even in the South East, contrary to insinuations that the party’s gains in the area had been reduced. | PDP Crisis, PDP BOT, Nyesom Wike, Dr. Adolphus Nwabara, Acting chairman of the BoT | https://bit.ly/3M52wSp | |
| The Guardian Online | 5th October 2022 | Court fails to declare Onuigbo APC Abia Central senatorial candidate | The Federal High Court in Umuahia, Abia State capital, yesterday, refused to declare serving member in the House of Representatives for Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency, Sam Onuigbo, the authentic All Progressives Congress (APC) Abia Central Senatorial candidate for 2023 general elections. The court, presided over by Justice Evelyn Anyadike, however, was silent on declaring Emeka Atuma the authentic candidate in place of Onuigbo. Onuigbo had filed a suit challenging Atuma’s presentation by APC as candidate despite the fact that Atuma contested and lost in the party’s governorship primary, as well as not participating in the senatorial primary. Onuigbo, in his suit, urged the Federal High Court to declare him the party’s candidate, having, according to him, won the party’s primary conducted of May 28 and 29, 2022. | Sam Onuigbo, Senatorial Candidate, Court Ruling, APC | https://bit.ly/3EiD4XG | |
| Vanguard Online | 5th October 2022 | 2023: Police assure Zamfara of peaceful election as political parties sign peace accord | The Zamfara Commissioner of Police, Mr Kolo Yusuf, has assured the residents of Zamfara of peaceful elections in the state ahead of 2023 general elections. The Police Commissioner is also the state Chairman, Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES). He gave the assurance in Gusau on Tuesday at an event for signing of peace accord by political parties in the state ahead of the 2023 general elections. Yusuf, who chaired the session, said the meeting was aimed at stimulating healthy interaction and mutual discussion on matters relating to the security and overall conduct of the February 2023 General Elections. He explained that, the ICCES was an ad hoc committee of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), made up of the various security agencies to ensure free, fair and credible election. “All security agencies in the state are working together to ensure effective deployment and management during the elections,” he said. According to him, “All quasi-security outfits during campaigns/rallies and other electoral processes are banned”. The police commissioner also warned that the use of firearms and other offensive weapons remained prohibited. In his remarks, The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof Saeed Babura, appealed to the political parties for maximum support and cooperation to INEC, the security agencies and other stakeholders. NAN reports that during the event, all registered political parties and their governorship candidates signed the peace accord. | Zamfara Commissioner of Police, Mr Kolo Yusuf, Zamfara State, ICCES, INEC, Peaceful Election, Peace Accord | https://bit.ly/3T1MHOB | |
| Vanguard Online | 5th October 2022 | Mbaka denies prophesying against Peter Obi, heads to monastery | The Spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry, Enugu, Nigeria, AMEN, Fr Ejike Mbaka has denied prophesying against the candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr Peter Obi. In a video he shared on Facebook before heading to the monastery, the outspoken cleric, noted that he never spoke ill of Peter Obi on Sunday. Recall that some news media not Vanguard had rumoured that Fr Mbaka had during the Sunday mass, prophesied that the former governor of Anambra state would not succeed in the forthcoming presidential election. Clarifying the allegation Mbaka said he ‘never motioned Obi not to talk about Peter’ during the Sunday mass, advising the purveyors of the news to apologise. His words: “After handing over to Fr Anthony Amadi on Sunday, I started hearing that Fr Mbaka spoke against Peter Obi. “I Rev Fr Mbaka on that Sunday never mentioned Peter not to talk of Obi. Please whoever is being used by the devil to blackmail me in the name of doing any job for anybody, is satanic and should apologize, withdraw such nefarious, and satanic utterance and be careful when you want to harm the image of a man of God. Whoever did that, I have forgiven you, but I want to hear that you have apologized and withdrew what you said against me on that day. Just to put the Adoration ministry in trouble. “Please as I have said, I heard some people are planning to protest. I have not asked anybody to protest for me. And I don’t want to hear that there is any protest done to express anger towards my journey to the monastery. | Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka, Peter Obi, Alleged Prophesy | https://bit.ly/3ryw5SU | |
| This Day Live | 5th October 2022 | PDP Members Petition EFCC over Alleged Bribery by Party Leadership | No end in sight yet for the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as some party members have dragged the leadership before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations of misappropriation of funds, among others. The party members, under the aegis of the Forum of PDP Candidates and Aspirants for 2023 Elections, have sent a petition to the commission’s chairman on the matter. The petition dated September 30, 2022 was jointly signed by the forum’s Coordinator, Chris Ogbu; Secretary, Dauda Yusuf; and Publicity Secretary, C. Ikenta. Specifically, the petitioners asked the commission to investigate and prosecute the party leaders over allegation of criminal misappropriation of party’s fund, unlawful disbursement of funds, bribery and others. Those the petitioners want investigated are Senator Iyorchia Ayu (National Chairman), Senator Samuel Anyanwu (National Secretary) and Umar Iliya Damagnum (Deputy National Chairman (North). The petition read in part, “It is a matter of national and international embarrassment that the aforementioned members of the National Executive Committee of the Party, without the due authorization of the NEC, has criminally mismanaged and frittered over N10 billion which the party realised from the sale of Nomination Form during the parties primaries. “They had also engaged in various acts of bribery and extortion of candidates without regard to the firm stand of the party in the fight against corruption. This allegation is backed up with the recent development of refund of various sums of money by some members of the National Working Committee.” | Petition, EFCC, Forum of PDP Candidates and Aspirants for 2023 Elections | https://bit.ly/3V31Tg7 | |
| The Guardian Newspaper | 4th October 2022 | Disgraceful defeat awaits Akpabio, Don Etiebet warns | Former Minister of Petroleum, Don Etiebet, has advised the immediate past Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Godswill Akpabio, to withdraw from the senatorial race or face defeat at the polls next year. Etiebet predicted that the defeat that awaits Akpabio would be more disgraceful than the one he suffered in 2019. The All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart said it was the turn of Abak 5 Federal Constituency to occupy the Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District seat, and not Ikot Ekpene Federal Constituency, where Akpabio hails from. He asked Akpabio to toe the path of honour by stepping down from the senatorial race for DIG Udom Ekpoudom (rtd) to fly the APC Senatorial flag for Akwa Ibom North West in next year’s election. “Since 1960, Ukanafun/Oruk Anam Federal Constituency has gone to the Senate three times, whereas Ikot Ekpene/Essien Udim/Obot Akara Federal Constituency has gone five times, with Akpabio’s family twice in Nsima Akpabio and Godswill Akpabio, whereas Abak/Etim Ekpo/Ika Federal Constituency has not gone even once. “The four federal constituencies of Ukanafun/Oruk Anam, Ikot Ekpene/Essien Udim/Obot Akara, Ini/Ikono, Abak/Etim Ekpo/Ika, make up Akwa Ibom North West (Ikot Ekpene) Senatorial District and it is the considered opinion of all peace-loving people of Annang land that “Brother dey chop, brother no chop” is not good. And that this time round, the Abak/Etim Ekpo/Ika Federal Constituency, which has not gone to the Senate since 1960 should be given the ticket,” he said. Etiebet argued that even the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has agreed that Abak 5 should produce the next senator for the district. “In the PDP, Senator Christopher Ekpenyong from Ikot Ekpene/Essien Udim/Obot Akara Federal Constituency has stepped down for Emmanuel Enoidem from Etim Ekpo and Abak Federal Constituency,” he added. | Don Etiebet, Godswill Akpabio, Senate, Abak 5 Federal Constituency, PDP | Page 28 | |
| The Guardian Newspaper | 4th October 2022 | Electoral forum urges EFCC, ICPC to track campaign spending | As campaigns intensify, Initiative for Research, Innovation and Advocacy in Development (IRIAD) and Electoral Hub have called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC) to effectively track spending by politicians. While calling on parties and candidates to focus on policy-based electioneering centred on pressing issues in the polity, the organisations said anti-graft agencies must arrest and prosecute all electoral offenders. The forum, in a statement by its Director, Princess Hamman-Obels, yesterday, stressed the need for inclusive campaigns, noting that it is the hallmark of democracy. According to her, the inclusion of women, youths and Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) in the entire process would not only deepen the nation’s democracy but also ensure that political parties tap into these electoral bases. She said: “The INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) guideline for political rallies and campaigns by political parties, candidates and their supporters provides among other things, the distinction between political rallies and political campaigns, procedure for conducting political campaigns, conduct not permissible during political campaigns, period of political campaigns, the procedure for conducting political rallies, conduct not permissible during political rallies, target audience, etc. “ The EFCC and ICPC should be fully involved in the campaigning period. EFCC and ICPC should effectively monitor and track campaign spending. Police, EFCC and ICPC should arrest and prosecute electoral offenders. The National Human Right Commission (NHRC) should monitor, track and sanction human rights violations. The National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) should monitor adverts and hate speech and provide necessary sanctions where necessary. The banks should track illicit funds and report them appropriately to the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).” | IRIAD, Electoral Hub, Campaign Finance, Campaign Expenditure | Page 4 | |
| This Day Newspaper | 4th October 2022 | Igini: It’s Impossible to Rig 2023 Polls, Elections’ll Be Won or Lost at Polling Units | Former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Barrister Mike Igini, has advised those planning to rig the 2023 general election to bury the thought, because the elections would be won or lost at the polling units. This is as he has applauded the current National Assembly for passing the new Electoral Act Amendments Bill, which President Muhammadu Buhari gave his assent to become the 2022 Electoral Act. Igini, who recently retired as the Akwa Ibom State REC, spoke on television programme, which was monitored in Abuja yesterday. According to him, the 2022 Electoral Act, has made polling units the “Center of the Universe”, pointing out that the new Electoral Act has given INEC unfettered powers to deploy technology in the conduct of the elections, the introduction of the Bimodal Voting Accreditation System (BVAS) and its sister (iREV) would make it highly impossible to rig the elections at the polling units level anymore. “The 2022 Electoral Act, has made polling units the Center of the Universe. This means that elections will now be determined in the Polling Units. The era of fraudulent electoral officers, changing election results may have gone, because the results harvested in the polling units must be declared right there and results transmitted to the INEC elections viewing portal,” he said. Igini posited that the use of Form EC8A, where the Presiding Officer would fill in the results into the form and transfer or transmit same to INEC, iREV has become a game changer as the results could no longer be manipulated at collation centers. Igini, a chieftain of Civil Society Organisations (CSO), however, said that there were elements in Nigeria, who were not comfortable with the 2022 Electoral Act and were hell bent to sabotage it. His words: “It has to be said that there are those who are not comfortable with the 2022 Electoral Act and are hell bent to sabotage it. In any system, there are those who want to sabotage it, the Electoral Act is not spared.” | Rig, INEC, Mike Igini, 2023 General Election | Page 35 | |
| This Day Newspaper | 4th October 2022 | 2023: Aliyu, Shekarau, Haruna, Others Rally Support for Atiku | The campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, received a boost yesterday, as three former governors and leaders of the party stormed Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, to mobilise support for him ahead of the 2023 elections. The ex-governors were Muazu Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano), and Boni Haruna (Adamawa). The event held at the PDP secretariat in Abeokuta witnessed no fewer than 20 volunteer support groups for Atiku, the party’s governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, and other candidates. PDP leaders at the rally mocked the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, over his recent fitness video. In a related development, the immediate past chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Walid Jibrin, said the crisis plaguing the party would be over soon. Jibrin said this in a statement in Kaduna. But in Edo State, PDP stakeholders called for the immediate removal of Chief Dan Orbih as South-south Vice Chairman of the party over alleged anti-party activities. Aliyu, while addressing the crowd of supporters in Abeokuta, insisted that Atiku remained the healthiest candidate among those vying for the presidency. He said if things had worked well, Atiku ought to have succeeded his boss and former president, Olusegun Obasanjo. | Campaign, PDP, 2023 General Election, Rally, Atiku Abubakar | Page 32 | |
| Daily Trust Newspaper | 4th October 2022 | Litigations Dog Primaries As INEC Releases Final List Today | Ahead of today’s publication of the final list of nominated governorship candidates by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), reports from states indicated that multiple litigations are trailing primaries of the major political parties. The electoral body had slated today for the publication of the final list of nominated candidates for governorship and state houses of assembly in line with section 32 (1) of the Electoral Act 2022, which stipulates that the list of candidates be published at least 150 days before the election. The governorship elections would be held in 28 states. Eight states including; Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ondo and Osun states had been previously pushed out of the general elections circle following litigations. Reports from our correspondents showed that four months after the governorship primaries were held, litigations trailing the exercises are yet to be concluded. Litigations are trailing the governorship primaries of the APC in Abia, Adamawa, Benue, Kaduna, Jigawa, and Plateau, among other states. In Kaduna State, the APC, gubernatorial candidate, Sen. Uba Sani is not totally free to enjoy his party’s mandate, as litigation hangs on the primary elections that earned him the governorship ticket. Like in Kaduna, a chieftain of the APC in Jigawa State, an aspirant for the party’s governorship ticket, Farouk Adamu Aliyu is challenging the outcome of the primary election that produced the state’s deputy governor, Umar Namadi as the party’s gubernatorial flag bearer. In Benue State, lawsuits are trailing the emergence of Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia as the APC candidate. He is confronted with both internal and external forces against his candidature. Daily Trust reports that the emergence of Senator Aishatu Ahmed Binani as the APC candidate for Adamawa State is being challenged by a former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu. He had filed a suit at a federal high court in Yola, calling for the cancellation of the election over alleged over voting. In Plateau State, there’s a lawsuit trailing the emergence of Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe as the APC candidate. Dr Danyaro Sarpiyan, an APC governorship aspirant has challenged the nomination of Goshwe on the ground of irregularities during the party governorship primary, at the Federal High Court and asked the court to nullify the exercise. Reports from Abia State showed that APC candidate, High Chief Ikechi Emenike, is being challenged by the immediate past Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Dr Uchechukwu Samson Ogah. | INEC, Litigations, Governorship Election | Page 4 | |
| Daily Trust Newspaper | 4th October 2022 | Umahi Defends Tinubu, says Nobody Totally Well in Nigeria | Nobody is totally well and nobody is totally sick in Nigeria, Ebonyi state governor, David Umahi, has said. He said this while responding to those questioning the health of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Candidate. There have been concerns about the health status of the ex-Lagos state governor, with many Nigerians questioning his state of mind for the nation’s top job. But in an interview on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily, on Monday, Umahi said those asking such questions are being petty. The governor also said Tinubu’s workout video, which has been trending online, was taken without his knowledge, even though it was posted on Tinubu’s verified handle. He said: “Nobody is totally well, and nobody is totally sick; this is one point. Another point is that Nigerians are petty; some of us are petty. “A man doing his workout, you know, is being videoed and circulated on social media without his knowledge. And so, a man that has life does not need to show any proof of life. Asiwaju has life, and he doesn’t need to show any proof of life, and you can see that. I think we should concentrate on tangibles because life is like being on the bus, and you don’t know where the next bus stop is. Some of the people talking about the health of the leaders of the country don’t even know when their bus stop is coming. So, we should rely on tangibles. Every life and health rests in the hand of God; that is how I look at it.” Speaking further, Umahi said the major opposition party, PDP, has no structure in his state. | David Umahi, Bola Tinubu's Health, APC Presidential Candidate | Page 34 | |
| The Cable | 4th October 2022 | SDP presidential candidate accuses national assembly members of vote buying | Adewole Adebayo, the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), has alleged that the majority of lawmakers in the national assembly are vote buyers. He made the claim against the backdrop of the proposed creation of the Electoral Offences Commission by the national assembly. In July 2020, the senate passed the bill establishing the commission into law, after the legislation had earlier scaled second reading in the house of representatives. The bill seeks to provide the legal framework to establish and empower the National Electoral Offences Commission to investigate and prosecute electoral offences, including voter inducement. Speaking on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme, on Tuesday, Adebayo said it is hypocritical for lawmakers who are allegedly neck-deep in vote buying to pass such a bill. He alleged that some of the lawmakers emerged as candidates of their parties as a result of inducing voters with money. The lawyer said to mitigate vote buying in the forthcoming 2023 election, the lawmakers should be challenged morally on the issue of vote buying. “The problem of Nigeria is not that we are sinners, God can forgive us. But we are hypocrites, God can’t help hypocrites,” he said. “Majority of people in the national assembly are vote buyers, even though they are passing the law against vote buying. And they are desperately looking for money everywhere to buy vote. Many or some of the candidates you see today did vote buying during primaries in their parties, so it is difficult to make us believe that this is an offence… like a strange offence but this is an offence that can only be committed by the political class. And the same political class are the ones passing the law they know they are going to disobey. So, I think the first thing we have to do is take a moral challenge to these candidates.” TheCable cannot independently verify the vote buying claims of the SDP standard bearer. | Adewole Adebayo, SDP Presidential Candidate, Vote Buyers, Interview, Electoral Offences Commission | https://bit.ly/3V30s12 | |