• Kizz Daniel apologizes to Tanzanians, promises free show on Friday.
• ASUU declares ongoing examinations at Kaduna University illegal, seeks cancellation
• Abia women protest doctor”s continued detention nine weeks after his kidnapping.
• Controversy over PDP House of Reps ticket in Imo
• INEC speaks on documents allegedly altered in favor of Lawan, Akpabio

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

Kizz Daniel apologizes to Tanzanians, promises free show on Friday.

For failing to appear at the performance he was hired to lead last Sunday, the music celebrity was earlier detained in Tanzania.

But on Monday, he was soon freed from police custody after being taken into custody.

At a press conference on Tuesday, the “Buga” singer stated, “It was not intentional.”

Kizz Daniel also promised to perform for free in Tanzania on Friday.

“This Friday, a free show by the way, I will be partnering with Straight Up Vibes to make that happen. I must apologize to the fans. None of this was intentional,” Daniel said.

Stephen Uwa, the show organizer, earlier alleged that Daniel refused to perform because he was not wearing his gold chain.

Uwa said he paid the singer $60,000 to perform at the show.

“He only said the airline didn’t bring his bag. That is why he could not perform because his gold chain is not there and he had a gold chain on his neck. He wanted everything,” he said.

“I bought him different clothes but he said just because the airline didn’t bring one of his bags, he cannot perform without his gold on his neck.”

ASUU declares ongoing examinations at Kaduna University illegal, seeks cancellation

The Kaduna State University’s (KASU) current examinations have been deemed to be in breach of the rules and regulations governing the conduct of examinations in academic institutions by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

By way of a statement released by the Kano Zone, the union made its position clear, arguing that any examinations completed as part of the existing arrangement must be redone to maintain the integrity of the procedure.

On August 2, KASU resumed academic operations that had been suspended on February 14 when its academic staff joined a national strike called by the ASUU national leadership in response to unmet demands made to the government.

Nasir El-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna State, had already threatened to fire all lecturers who refused to return to class, claiming there was no dispute between them.

Abia women protest doctor’s continued detention nine weeks after his kidnapping.

In Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State, women of the Ahia Asa, Umuopara clan yesterday protested the ongoing arrest of their son, Professor Uwadinachi Iweha.
There are concerns for Iweha’s safety after he was abducted in front of his home and hasn’t been seen since.

The women demanded his unconditional release and expressed concern for his safety as they condemned the state’s recent wave of kidnappings.

Dame Victory Asomugha spoke on behalf of Mrs. Sally Ukauwa, the group’s chairwoman, who stated they were no longer at ease. Nine weeks after their illustrious son was kidnapped, nothing had been done to save him.

“The women in the neighborhood will no longer put up with the doctor’s continuous confinement to the kidnappers’ cave,” she warned in her plea for immediate action to free him.

“Our son left his house to worship God. They called him from the church. He returned home, and to this day, we have not seen him,” she claimed.

“We are also calling on government and security agencies to expedient action for his release.”

Controversy over PDP House of Reps ticket in Imo

Aloysius Igwe, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the House of Representatives in Imo State, has filed a lawsuit against the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the purported use of his name in place of the elected candidate for his constituency.

According to Mr. Igwe, he stood for office and won the party primary for the state’s Oru East-Orsu-Orlu federal constituency; however, a new primary was held, and Kinglsey Onyegbula, a rival candidate, won.

Between May 25 and 26, the PDP held its primary for the House of Representatives in the district, where five candidates vied for the ticket.

Mr. Igwe received 39 votes in the process, which was overseen by INEC, defeating Kingsley Onyegbula, who received 36 votes, as his closest competitor.

However, despite INEC independently recognizing Mr. Igwe as the primary victor, they did not accept him as a candidate.

On June 3, there were rumors that a prominent PDP official was planning to help Mr. Onyegbula, a competitor who lost the election, organize a new primary to reverse the results of the previous one.

As predicted, a second PDP primary for the same Oru East-Orsu-Orlu Federal Constituency was held on June 5, but Mr. Igwe was not told.

According to reports, Mr. Onyegbula was named the victor of the new primary.

Despite not objecting to Mr. Igwe’s selection as the party’s candidate following the election on May 26, Mr. Onyegbula later submitted an appeal to the PDP’s Imo State National Assembly Electoral Appeal Panel.

INEC speaks on documents allegedly altered in favour of Lawan, Akpabio

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied tampering with election records to favor Ahmad Lawan, the Senate President, and Godswill Akpabio, a former Niger Delta Affairs minister.

After failing to secure the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential nomination for 2023, Lawan and Akpabio have been vying for the party’s senatorial nominations for the Yobe North and Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial Districts, respectively.

This was despite the fact that Bashir Machina and Udom Ekpoudom had won the INEC-conducted primary elections in their respective senatorial zones.

“INEC lacks the authority to veto names submitted by political parties. Parties have sole authority over primaries. In a report, Mr. Igini stated that INEC’s role was limited to monitoring the primaries to ensure they adhered to their own rules, the Electoral Act, and the Constitution.

To “accommodate” Lawan and Akpabio, according to a media source on Tuesday, INEC had backdated Certified True Copies of reports from the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries.

There are no reports of a comparable election that was held in Yobe and won by Mr. Machina.

The names of Lawan and Akpabio, who did not take part in the elections, were instead given to the commission as candidates, despite Bashir Machina and Udom Ekpoudom having emerged as contenders in the primaries overseen by INEC officials in their respective senatorial zones.

The Akwa-Ibom INEC REC, Mike Igini, defended the approval of names, but the court now has the final say.

However, in a statement released on Tuesday by Festus Okoye, INEC’s spokesperson, the body denied altering or certifying any documents in favor of the two APC leaders.