Article

INEC Commissioner stripped and beaten in Adamawa; No proof of wrongdoing by Tinubu, Governance isn’t about sainthood – Fashola | 5 Things That Should Matter Today

  • INEC Commissioner stripped and beaten in Adamawa
  • No proof of wrongdoing by Tinubu, Governance isn’t about sainthood – Fashola
  • Dino Melaye secures PDP’s governorship ticket in Kogi
  • PDP calls for Adamawa REC’s arrest, urges public to ignore declaration
  • APC’s Idris Nasiru declared winner of Kebbi gubernatorial election by INEC

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

INEC Commissioner stripped and beaten in Adamawa

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has called for the arrest and prosecution of those who brutalised one of its national commissioners deployed to Adamawa State for the supplementary governorship poll held on Saturday.

Festus Okoye, the INEC National Commissioner, condemned the violent act and demanded action from security agencies to identify and prosecute the perpetrators.

“A national commissioner cannot be treated as if he or she is a common criminal,” Okoye said.

He added that the commission would not tolerate such behavior and demanded that the security agencies investigate and prosecute those responsible for the assault.

Okoye also disclosed that the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Adamawa, Yunusa Ari, has arrived in Abuja over an invalid declaration of Aisha ‘Binani’ Dahiru of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the governorship election.

He explained that the REC had no authority to make such a declaration and that only Mele Lamido, the returning officer for the Adamawa governorship election, had the constitutional mandate to announce the winner.

The collation of results of the supplementary election was suspended after Ari announced Binani as the winner of the election, despite trailing Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before the announcement.

In his words, Okoye said, “Acting as collation and returning officer are not part of the powers delegated to him [REC]. So, he has no right whatsoever to make a declaration and make a return.”

He added that the collation of results from the supplementary election was suspended and urged the public to remain calm until the official announcement of the final results by the rightful officer.

No proof of wrongdoing by Tinubu, Governance isn’t about sainthood – Fashola

Babatunde Fashola, Nigeria’s Minister of Works and Housing, has defended Bola Tinubu, the President-elect, against various allegations, stating that they are “unproven.”

Despite concerns over Tinubu’s educational background, age, family ties, and source of wealth, Fashola believes that Nigerians have spoken and are not bothered by these issues.

Fashola, who was the head of the Tinubu-Shettima election planning directorate, claims that the All Progressives Congress (APC) trained 2,000 agents from all states and sent them to the states to train agents in their respective states. Furthermore, the APC had pre-election internal polls that were never released, according to the minister.

In an interview with Channels Television on Sunday, Fashola said that the controversies surrounding Tinubu might indicate a positive turnaround for the country.

“Maybe there is a divine purpose. Maybe perhaps, this is where Nigeria begins to turn in the most positive ways forever,” he said.

The minister also noted that governance is not about sainthood but about efficiency, performance, and delivery. He stated that allegations against Tinubu were unproven or unsupported by evidence and that there is no “sainthood” in governance.

Fashola also addressed recent allegations that Tinubu obtained citizenship of Guinea, saying he was not aware if Tinubu has dual citizenship. Fashola stated that he knew Tinubu carried a Nigerian passport and did not know if he had dual citizenship. He added that the Nigerian constitution allows for dual citizenship.

Dino Melaye secures PDP’s governorship ticket in Kogi

According to recent reports, former Senator Dino Melaye has emerged victorious in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary election in Kogi state, defeating his closest rival, Idoko Ilonah. Melaye secured 313 votes, while Ilonah received 124 votes.

Ahmed Makarfi, former governor of Kaduna and chairman of the PDP’s electoral committee for Kogi governorship primary, announced the result on Sunday.

The upcoming gubernatorial election in Kogi state will see Melaye go up against Ahmed Ododo, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). However, Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers, expressed his doubts about Melaye’s ability to lead the state. He said that Melaye does not have the necessary qualities to win the governorship election in November.

But Melaye has rebutted Wike’s allegations, claiming that the Rivers governor is merely upset with him because he failed to convince Atiku Abubakar to select him as his running mate during the last presidential election.

Melaye went on to say, “Nigerians should not be fooled. That integrity and equity that he (Wike) is always clamouring, he does not possess one percent of it. He will tell you he wants a southern presidency, that is why he is fighting, but that is a bogus lie. Wike wanted to be vice-presidential candidate to Atiku. He (Wike) called me 19 times in two hours when Atiku was going to mention his vice-presidential candidate, lobbying me with everything possible to influence Atiku to announce him as his running mate. I have witnesses.”

PDP calls for Adamawa REC’s arrest, urges public to ignore declaration

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of Hudu Yunusa Ari, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Adamawa State, over his illegal declaration of Aisha Binani as the winner of the Adamawa State Governorship election.

In a statement released on Sunday by the PDP spokesman, Debo Ologunagba, the party accused Ari of usurping the duties and powers of the Returning Officer, Prof Mohammed Mele, while the collation was ongoing, in violation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act, 2022, INEC Guidelines, and the sensibility of the people of Adamawa State.

“The PDP also demands for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mallam Hudu Yunusa Ari, for making such illegal declaration in criminal usurpation of the duties and powers of the Returning Officer, Prof Mohammed Mele, while collation was ongoing,” the statement read.

The party further called on the people of Adamawa State, Nigerians, and the international community to disregard the purported declaration of the defeated candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Aisha Binani, as the winner of the election.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had earlier suspended the collation of the exercise in the state. INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education, Barrister Festus Okoye, criticized Ari’s action, saying it usurps the power of the Returning Officer.

APC’s Idris Nasiru declared winner of Kebbi gubernatorial election by INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Idris Nasiru, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the Kebbi state governorship election.

Nasiru scored 409,225 votes to beat his closest challenger, Bande Aminu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who got 360,940 votes.

Saidu Yusuf, the returning officer, declared the APC candidate as the winner, on Sunday.

In March, INEC declared the March 18 Kebbi gubernatorial election inconclusive owing to “massive vote cancellation and overvoting” in 20 of the 21 LGAs in the state.

Owing to the incident, the electoral commission fixed April 15 for a supplementary election.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

cool good eh love2 cute confused notgood numb disgusting fail