• 2023: Only unpatriotic Nigerians will vote for Tinubu, others – Obasanjo
• Senator Ita Enang loses appeal battle for A’Ibom APC governorship ticket
• CBN warns commercial banks against ATM dispensing old naira
• FG quietly approves ₦‎185 per litre as petrol pump price
• Minister confirms no tenure extension for Police IG

Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top Nigerian news stories you shouldn’t miss:

2023: Only unpatriotic Nigerians will vote for Tinubu, others – Obasanjo

Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president of Nigeria, maintained that Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate, deserves the support of all patriotic Nigerians and that only the unpatriotic would support his opponents.

Obasanjo urged Nigerians to vote for Obi and explained that this was because, unlike his rivals, Obi has a good character.

Obasanjo spoke on Thursday in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, at an interactive session hosted by the Experiential Leadership in Africa (TEL-Africa).

Speaking on why he declared his support for Obi against Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Obasanjo said “I will be punished by God if I know what is right and I did not put it where it should be.”

He clarified that he mentioned in his letter that Obi has an edge, taking everything together; stating that “I take character, I take track record, I take vision and I take what you see in this man as a child of God.”

He recalled that during his New Year open letter to the youth, he had said he knows the major candidates a little bit and can say a bit about them as their mentor.

“Why should you as a Nigerian vote for somebody with the character, the reputation, the life of which you do not want your own children to be?” Obasanjo asked, stressing that “it is either you are wicked, you are unpatriotic or you are really, really a bad citizen of this country and then if this is who you are, what do you want God to do with you, and that is the way I see it.”

Senator Ita Enang loses appeal battle for A’Ibom APC governorship ticket

Senator Ita Enang, a former special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on the National Assembly, has lost the race for the All Progressives Congress, or APC, governorship ticket in Akwa Ibom State.

On Thursday night in Abuja, the Court of Appeal affirmed the results of the primary election that resulted in Akanimo Udofia being the party’s flagbearer.

In Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State, a Federal High Court decision that favored Enang was overturned and annulled.

On November 14 of last year, Judge Agatha Okeke ordered the APC to hold a new governorship primary within two weeks and disallowed Udofia from taking part.

However, the Federal High Court acted without authority when it declared the APC primary election invalid, according to the Court of Appeal’s ruling, which was handed down by Justice Mohammed Idris.

In a unanimous ruling, the appellate court determined that the primary election should not have been decided upon by the High Court because it was an internal matter of the APC.

As a result, the APC’s appeal was accepted because it had merit, but Enang’s arguments were rejected because they lacked merit.

Elfreda Williams-Dawodu, who served as chairwoman of the Appeal Court, and Danlami Senchi are the other justices on the bench.

CBN warns commercial banks against ATM dispensing old naira

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has threatened commercial banks with penalties if it is discovered that they are loading their Automated Teller Machines (ATM) with outdated notes that would no longer be accepted as legal cash on January 31.

Dr. Rekiyat Yusuf, deputy director of currency operations, stated on Thursday in Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State, that any ATM found to still have old notes would be shut down and the appropriate sanctions would be applied to the operating bank. He was speaking during a market education session about the redesigned naira notes.

She urged traders to take advantage of the January 31 deadline window to visit their banks—or any bank, if they don’t have one already—and exchange their money for the freshly-redesigned 200, 500, and 1,000 naira notes.

“There is no reason for banks to still be stocking their Automated Teller Machines with old notes and the apex bank has made enough redesigned notes available for dispensing to members of the public,” she said adding that any bank caught would be made to “face appropriate sanction.”

Earlier, Dr. Yusuf had outlined the reasons for redesigning the notes including curbing terrorism, kidnapping for ransom, and endemic corruption.

Other reasons identified include a lot of money outside the banking system which fuels inflation and the need to fulfil international best practices of redesigning currency once in five to eight years.

Also speaking, the Kogi State branch controller of CBN, Alhaji Ahmed Sule, urged traders to accept the new currency until the January 31 deadline date.

According to him, Lokoja being a gateway state to many states where a lot of business transactions involving currency exchange take place, it is necessary to embark on active sensitisation.”

The Apex bank also embarked on the inspection of some Automated Teller Machines within the metropolis to ensure that the machines are stocked with the newly redesigned notes.

FG quietly approves ₦‎185 per litre as petrol pump price

The new per-liter price of gasoline at the pump has been discreetly approved by the Federal Government at 185.

The approved pump price was relayed to major marketers in a document early on Thursday, a source informed Reuters.

According to information provided by our source, gas stations in Lagos have begun raising their pump prices to the authorized 185 per litre.

Since late November 2022, there has been a national gasoline shortage that has resulted in long lines at gas stations. The recently approved price comes weeks after that.

Although the official price at the pump was N165 per litre, many gas stations in Lagos and other regions of Nigeria sold petrol for N200 or more per litre.

Minister confirms no tenure extension for Police IG

Usman Baba will serve as Inspector-General of Police for a single term of four years, according to Minister of Police Affairs Mohammed Dingyadi.

Osaigbovo Ehisienmen, Dingyadi’s press secretary, confirmed the news on Thursday.

The explanation was made in response to media allegations of a tenure extension, the minister said.

According to Dingyadi, the IGP was chosen on April 6, 2021, by President Muhammadu Buhari, and ratified on June 8, 2021, by the Nigeria Police Council for a single term.

According to Osaigbovo Ehisienmen, the appointment was made in accordance with Sections 7 (3) and 7 (6) of the Police Act 2020.

“These provisions of the 2020 amended Police Acts should not be misconstrued for tenure extension as erroneously reported in some sections of the media,” he said.

The minister advised the public to ignore unfounded allegations.