• I won’t rest until I bring relief to Nigerians, says Buhari
• Medical lecturers to be paid as FG breaks ASUU’s rank
• Peter Obi picks Datti Baba-Ahmed as running mate
• Odumeje to pay the cost of demolition of his church – Soludo
• High Court disqualifies PDP candidate, Oborevwori

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

I won’t rest until I bring relief to Nigerians, says Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has once again stressed that his administration will continue to address the country’s current security and cost of living issues, saying, ”I won’t rest until I bring relief to Nigerians.”

Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s media aide in a statement, said the president gave the assurance in his Eid-el Kabir message to Nigerian Muslims and other citizens, on Friday in Abuja.

President Buhari urged the Nigerian people to put the national interest above selfish interests and to “use religion as a motivation for the love of our common humanity.”

According to the President, religion should not just be used as a mere badge of identity, but as a motivator for doing good for the country and humanity.

He frowned at the exploitation of the people by traders and the stealing of public funds by civil servants and other holders of public trust, saying these negative vices were reflections of the abandonment of the teachings of our religions.

The President expressed the hope that this Eid would be a source of blessing, peace, prosperity, and safety for all Nigerians, stressing that coexistence and stability would prevail in the country.

Medical lecturers to be paid as FG breaks ASUU’s rank

The Federal Government has started processing the withheld salaries of some medical lecturers in various federal universities who opted out of the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The development is sequel to a letter by the medical lecturers, under the aegis of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association, MDCAN, to the Ministers of Education, Labour and Employment, and Finance, Budget and National Planning requesting the payment of their withheld March-June, 2022 salaries.

The affected lecturers are from the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, UMTH, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital, ATBUTH, and the Usman Danfodiyo Teaching Hospital, UDUTH.

According to reports, the approval was granted because the medical lecturers obliged the request made by the Federal Government and well-meaning Nigerians for ASUU to stay on duty while negotiating with the Federal Government.

The reports said: “We are processing the payment as approved by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning. Our target is to get the salaries paid immediately workers return from Sallah holiday.”

Peter Obi picks Datti Baba-Ahmed as running mate

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, on Friday, finally named his running mate ahead of the 2023 General Election.

Mr. Obi, at a press conference in Abuja, announced Dr. Datti Yusuf Baba-Ahmed as his substantive vice-presidential candidate.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, Baba-Ahmed said his decision to accept the nomination was borne out of his commitment to rescuing Nigeria.

He also said Obi and other Labour party stakeholders also played a major role in his decision as he bought into their agenda and movement of getting Nigeria to where it should be.

He said, “My task here today is simple and it is to accept my nomination but just before I do that, I should give justifications as follows.

“The undeniable and unchallengeable fundamental reason for being on this ticket is to rescue Nigeria.

“And it goes logically without saying that you can only rescue that which is in trouble and Nigeria is in trouble and I cannot afford not to be part of the movement to rescue Nigeria.

“The second reason is that I believe in the greatness of Nigeria. I believe there will be peace and prosperity, and I believe Nigeria people will unite.”

Odumeje to pay the cost of demolition of his church – Soludo

Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo has said that popular pastor, Chukwuemeka Ohanaemere, who is also known as Odumeje, will pay for the cost of the demolition of his church.

Speaking on Friday night, he said there were several notices sent to all house owners, whose houses were marked for demolition, and asked that such structures be removed within a timeframe.

“It is costing us money. They had several notices to remove such structures, but they refused.

“The demolition started yesterday (Thursday), and has gone well so far, except for Pastor Odumeje, who according to the report drove in, and in a brazen manner, attempted to take over the equipment.

“Of course, state work must go on, and security had to stop him. This was a man who was in several meetings we had and also spoke.

He regretted that Pastor Odumeje took laws into his hands and attempted to stop the exercise.

High Court disqualifies PDP candidate, Oborevwori

Justice Taiwo Taiwo of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Thursday, disqualified the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sherrif Oborevwori, from contesting the 2023 governorship election in Delta State.

The court held that Oborevwori lacked the legal competence to participate in the election.

The verdict resulted from a suit that was brought before the court by an aggrieved member of the party, Mr. Olorogun Edevbie.

The Plaintiff had among other things, contended that the Defendant was not validly nominated by his party.

He told the court that PDP violated both its constitution and the Electoral Guidelines, during its state congress that produced Oborevwori as its flag bearer for the forthcoming gubernatorial election.

In the suit which also had the PDP and INEC as defendants, Plaintiff sought an order to restrain Oborevwori from parading or carrying himself as the governorship candidate of the PDP in the state.

Justice Taiwo held in his judgment that the suit was creditable and accordingly granted the reliefs of the Plaintiff against Oborevwori.