• SDP asks court to nullify Oni’s candidacy in Ekiti guber poll
• Enugu Diocese distances self from Father Mbaka
• Reps want raid on forest reserves after Owo attack
• Wike’s supporters express displeasure at Atiku’s Okowa choice
• INEC distributes sensitive materials for Ekiti election

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

SDP asks court to nullify Oni’s candidacy in Ekiti guber poll

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has asked a federal high court in Ado Ekiti to nullify the emergence of Segun Oni as the party’s governorship candidate.

The suit marked FHC/C/31/2022 and filed on Wednesday, has the SDP as the first plaintiff, while Ishola Agboola, Tunde Alabi and Kehinde Rufus are the second, third and fourth plaintiffs, respectively.

According to the plaintiffs, Oni did not participate in any valid primary.

The party is also seeking a declaration that the primary of the party organised under the supervision of Shehu Gabam and Olu Agunloye, which was “never held formally”, is wrongful, illegal, null and void and couldn’t have produced a validly-nominated governorship candidate for the Ekiti poll.

Enugu Diocese distances self from Father Mbaka

The Catholic Diocese of Enugu has dissociated itself from recent comments made by Ejike Mbaka, spiritual director of Adoration Ministries, Enugu, Nigeria (AMEN).

Mbaka, while addressing worshippers in a video trending online, had described Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi as a “stingy man”.

“A stingy man cannot be our president, we are very hungry — we need a generous person, Nigerians are hungry, are we not hungry?” Mbaka had said.

In a statement issued Thursday, by Wilfred Chidi Agubuchie, the Enugu diocese said Mbaka’s comments are a “clear violation” of the provisions of the canon law “which forbids priests from engaging in partisan politics”.

The diocese said Mbaka’s views on the matter are “entirely personal to him and do not represent the position of the Catholic Diocese of Enugu”.

Reps want raid on forest reserves after Owo attack

The House of Representatives Thursday, urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on forest reserves in parts of Ondo as part of efforts to arrest and prosecute the terrorists who on June 5 massacred about 40 worshippers at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo.

The lawmakers made the call after unanimously adopting a motion moved by the lawmaker representing Owo/Ose Federal Constituency in Ondo, Oluwatimehin Adelegbe, which was titled, ‘A Motion of Urgent National Importance Brought Pursuant to the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives on the Killing of Innocent Worshippers in Owo, Ondo.’

“On Sunday, January 23, 2022, there was a deadly attack carried out on Okeluse community, also in Ose LGA by armed men who razed farmlands, houses and left three persons dead. In November 2021, a group of armed men killed the Olufon of Ifon, Oba Israel Adewusi, in the same LGA.”

Wike’s supporters express displeasure at Atiku’s Okowa choice

Supporters of the Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike, and his appointees on Thursday expressed anger over the decision of the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to pick the Delta Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate.

According to Punch newspaper, Wike’s loyalists, who reacted shortly after Atiku unveiled Okowa as his running mate, dismissed the Delta governor as a featherweight politician and warned that the decision would have implications for the PDP in the 2023 elections.

The  Chairman of the Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers, Dr Samuel Nwanosike, stated, “There is a local proverb in my village that says nobody will tell a man that eats yam to go and drink water.

“If you are eating yam, you must look for water to drink  because if you eat yam without drinking water, it will choke you.”

INEC distributes sensitive materials for Ekiti election

The materials were distributed at the INEC office in Ado-Ekiti in the presence of journalists, political parties and security agents.

Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Adeniran Tella, who distributed the materials, said the electoral officers will take the items to their councils where they would be sent to the polling units on Saturday morning. He assured the people there will be no late arrival of materials to polling units on Saturday.

Tella added that the ballot papers were coded in different colours for each council to prevent electoral fraud. According to him, the result sheets were also customised according to each polling unit.