• Buhari urges Nigerians to vote for Tinubu and APC candidates
• I hope to retire in peace and relocate to Katsina – Buhari
• DSS sued for N500 million over the imprisonment of activist who protested ‘arrest’ of CBN Governor
• Tinubu, Buhari urge Adamawa to give Nigeria’s first female governor
• Buhari commissions Yobe airport named after him

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

Buhari urges Nigerians to vote for Tinubu and APC candidates

President Muhammadu Buhari, with only 46 days till the presidential election, has called on Nigerians to put their faith in the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate Bola Tinubu and other candidates of the party by voting for them in large numbers.

On Monday, Buhari led the All Progressives Congress (APC) in launching its presidential and governorship campaigns in Adamawa State.

He pleaded with Nigerians to support Tinubu and the APC in the next elections.

“I want you to continue with this spirit and remain loyal to our party the APC. I want you to support our candidates at all levels in the state and federal elections.

“You can trust Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Jagaban of Borgu, our party’s flagbearer and presidential candidate, together with his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima.

“I want you to vote for them massively, retain the party in power at the centre, and also return Adamawa to the rank of the progressives.

“I want you to wholeheartedly embrace the message of Renewed Hope on which our candidates and party are campaigning,” the President said.

I hope to retire in peace and relocate to Katsina – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to use the remaining four months of his term as president to continue his record of strong leadership so that he may leave office without any unresolved issues.

He made the pledge during a speech at the palace of Damaturu’s Emir, Hashimi II El-Kanemi, on Monday.

In regard to the nation’s safety, Buhari called on the people to have faith in their government and its institutions and to stop giving terrorist organizations a foothold in the country.

‘‘With the four months I have left as President, I’ll continue to be steadfast and I hope that I will retire in peace,” he stated.

The president also noted that the government is committed to protecting the right of Nigerian children to education, particularly those displaced from their homes by Boko Haram.

He said, ‘‘We have gone through so much as a country but I will appeal to you all to maintain steadfastness and making sure that we will not allow anybody to disorganize us again”.

The number one citizen, however, has voiced his or her happiness at the restoration of calm in Yobe State and the rest of Northeast Nigeria.

He gave credit for the stability to Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni and his Borno State counterpart, Professor Babagana Zulum.

Buhari claims that both of these leaders have remained steadfast in their efforts to rebuild the hospitals, clinics, and other facilities that were damaged by the terrorists.

Recall that Buhari recently stated that he was looking forward to retiring from the presidency and living far away from Abuja, the seat of power.

He also indicated that he will return to his native state of Katsina, which borders the Republic of Chad.

DSS sued for N500 million over the imprisonment of activist who protested  ‘arrest’ of CBN Governor

Meliga Godwin, a human rights activist, was arrested after giving a news conference in which he criticized the Department of State Service and its Director General for their planned arrest of Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank.

On December 19, 2022, Meliga Godwin, President of the Middle Belt Youth Forum, addressed the media and denounced the DSS for attempting to acquire an ex-parte order to arrest and imprison the CBN Governor on spurious terrorist charges.

The activist spoke out against the DSS’s activities, calling them a “hatchet job,” at the press conference.

On January 8, 2023, DSS agents apprehended him and placed him in custody.

However, the applicant is requesting his unconditional release from the DSS in a move on notice for the enforcement of his basic rights with suit number FCT/HC/CV/1034/2023 filed by his attorney, Mr Chibuzo Ezike.

The petitioner has allegedly been incommunicado since his arrest and imprisonment, according to court statements made by one of his lawyers, Mr Okere Kingdom.

He asked the court to free him from jail and to compel the DSS and its director general to pay him N500 million in damages and issue an apology in two national dailies for his unlawful arrest and imprisonment.

Furthermore, he asked the court to rule that his arrest and incarceration from January 8, 2023, to the time the claim was filed were an infringement on his constitutional rights and hence null and void.

Tinubu, Buhari urge Adamawa to give Nigeria’s first female governor

To make history on March 11, President Buhari and All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate Bola Tinubu have urged party members in Adamawa State to elect Nigeria’s first female governor.

APC presidential candidate Senator Aishatu Ahmed Binani is the only female governorship candidate of a major political party in the upcoming election, and both Buhari and Tinubu, who were in Yola on Monday for the combined presidential and state governorship campaign flag-off of the APC, said the people had a chance to vote her into office.

Speaking in the same vein, Tinubu referred to Binani as the next Adamawa State governor and Nigeria’s first female governor who will ensure adequate employment and promote welfare for all.

“Today, you are about to send the first woman governor to the State House,” he said, charging the APC supporters who thronged the campaign venue to go ahead and do that when the governorship election comes up on March 11.

Speaking of his own aspiration, Tinubu said his government will banish hunger and restore farming if he becomes the next president.

Tinubu asserted that his administration would work hard to relieve Nigerians of poverty, saying, “Whatever they say in Poverty Development Party, you know their name, Poverty Development Party, we will replace it with joy, prosperity, happiness, and employment.”

Stressing that his government would be people-focused, Tinubu added: “All of you, expect that we will engage you properly. We will get you employed, we will pay attention to your needs.”

Buhari commissions Yobe airport named after him

President Muhammadu Buhari has officially opened Damaturu’s multibillion-naira Yobe international cargo airport.

The Senate President, Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, and the governors of Yobe and Borno states were among those who accompanied Buhari when he arrived in the state from Yola.

The airport, which is named after the President, will be known as Muhammadu Buhari International Cargo Airport, Damaturu.

The Buni government also completed a housing estate with over 3,000 units, four contemporary marketplaces, and a state-of-the-art maternity, newborn, and child health complex with a capacity of 300 beds. The President is expected to officially open these facilities soon.