• Be prepared for tough time in 2023 – Shettima to Nigerians
• APC is Nigeria’s best hope for good governance – Tinubu
• Wike, others agitation will be resolved soon – Atiku’s camp
• Lady jumps into Lagos lagoon after chat with fiancé
• Osun INEC office set on fire

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

Be prepared for tough time in 2023 – Shettima to Nigerians

The vice presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Kashim Shettima has urged Nigerians to brace up for a tough time in 2023.

Shettima dropped the hint on Thursday in Abuja at an event organised by APC Professionals Forum with the theme, ‘Dissecting the Asiwaju Manifesto’.

He warned that the country would go through some rough waters in the coming months and years.

The vice presidential candidate said while he is an incurable optimist, he is also a realist, saying the nation cannot shield itself from the global realities and from the challenges in Ukraine.

Shettima stated, “We’re going to go through some rough waters in the coming months and years. This is why leadership is very crucial. 2023 will be a watershed election in the history of this country.”

The former Borno State governor added: “What are the options available? Our political space is filled with a lot of very careful snails. We have to provoke conversation without descending so low to engage in malicious concoctions or [casting] dubious aspersions on personalities.”

Shettima also took a swipe at the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, saying: “Peter “Gringori” Obi is my friend but “Gringori” has absolutely nothing to offer apart from dubious statistics. So [in] the choice before us, there is a difference between daylight and darkness.”

APC is Nigeria’s best hope for good governance – Tinubu

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has claimed his party remains the only hope and the best for good governance in the country.

Tinubu stated this on Thursday during a town hall meeting with the stakeholders of mining and agro-processing in Lafia, Nasarawa State.

The former governor of Lagos State also said his campaign would dwell on fundamental issues and his plan is to address numerous challenges confronting the nation.

“We, the APC, shall continue to stand before the Nigerian people to discuss the real issues of the day and offer insight into the policy solutions we intend to deploy to solve them.

“In this, we remain the best and only hope for progressive good governance in Nigeria,” he said.

He added that if elected president, he would ensure solid minerals play an important role in the country’s economy.

Wike, others agitation will be resolved soon – Atiku’s camp

The camp of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has expressed optimism that the crisis within the party would be resolved ahead of the 2023 election.

Dele Momodu, the Director of Strategic Communication of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, said the agitation of the aggrieved G-5 governors would soon be over.

The G-5 governors comprise Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, and Ifeanyi Ugwanyi of Enugu State.

The Wike-led governors have been demanding the resignation of Iyorchia Ayu as the National Chairman of PDP.

They noted that the North can’t produce PDP’s presidential candidate and the National Chairman.

However, there are indications that former President Goodluck Jonathan, has been approached to reconcile all the aggrieved party members.

Addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday, Momodu said Atiku’s camp is ready and open to a reconciliation with the governors.

Momodu said: “We’ve been at it for some time trying to see how we can bring everybody under the same umbrella.

“So hopefully, in the next couple of days and weeks, all of us will be able to work as one family. PDP is the biggest political family in Africa, and we want it to remain so.”

Lady jumps into Lagos lagoon after chat with fiancé

A yet-to-be-identified lady jumped into the Lagos lagoon on Thursday.

The incident occurred at the Third Mainland Bridge around 10 a.m.

The Lagos Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) confirmed that the individual is in her late 30s.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the woman alighted from a Uber car on the bridge and jumped off into the lagoon.

The Permanent Secretary, LASEMA, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, announcing the commencement of the rescue effort, said: The driver of the taxi claimed she was having a heated conversation with her fiance before alighting from the car.”

Oke-Osanyintolu said operatives of Fire Service, LASWA, Police and the Department of State Services (DSS) were assisting LASEMA.

Read also: Lady jumps into Lagos Lagoon in apparent suicide attempt

Osun INEC office set on fire

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office, Oke-Iresi, Ede South Local Government Area of Osun State has been set ablaze by suspected arsonists.

It was gathered that the fire at the INEC office started in the early hours of Thursday and it took the intervention of the Osun State Fire Service to contain the blaze and prevent the fire from spreading to other offices.

It was also revealed that the fire was started by unknown persons who used bread soaked in petrol.

The incident has been confirmed by Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee and the Osun Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Mutiu Agboke.

In a signed press statement, Okoye disclosed that the Nigerian Police and other security agencies have been informed of the incident and have commenced a full investigation.

Some of the exhibits recovered from the scene which the firefighters displayed include leftovers of the bread bomb, a face cap and a gallon of petrol.

Read also: 2023 elections: Hoodlums set Ogun INEC office on fire