• Obi tackles opponents, says presidency not retirement home, place to take turns
• Abuja court dismisses forgery suit against INEC, PDP, Borno Central senatorial candidate
• Prepare for the worst if you want to serve Nigeria – Buhari
• Peter Obi, Kwankwaso indirectly working for Tinubu – Orji Kalu
• 2023: Court stops Senator Abbo from contesting senatorial election

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

Obi tackles opponents, says presidency not retirement home, place to take turns

Mr. Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the Labour Party, hit back at his rivals by claiming that the office of the president of Nigeria is neither a retirement community nor a place where individuals wait their turn.

Obi was clearly alluding to the candidates for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who are both in their 70s. At one point, Tinubu declared that it was his turn to lead Nigeria.

Obi, who was in Anambra for a rally, a private meeting with traditional leaders, and a town hall meeting with students, claimed he is the best person to fix Nigeria.

Speaking at a meeting with traditional rulers of the state, Obi said: “It is not a turn-by-turn affair. This is not about turn, but about capacity and if it is about turn people like us would insist that it is our turn and should be considered.

“The job of a president is not a retirement loan, or for any kind of settlement but about uniting and rebuilding the country.

“When you look at me and my running mate, you will discover that we are young, compared with the other candidates who are older.

“When you talk about qualification, I am the most qualified and the youngest among them and this is not a job for rehabilitation of people because Nigeria needs a strong and vibrant person as president and one that is in tune with the trending and modern style of leadership so that our country would be counted among the committee of great Nations in the world.”

Abuja court dismisses forgery suit against INEC, PDP, Borno Central senatorial candidate

On Tuesday, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court’s Abuja Division dismissed a lawsuit that contested Muhammed Kumaila’s selection as the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate for the upcoming Borno Central Senatorial District election.

Jubrin Tatabe’s lawsuit was dismissed by Justice Nwite for being unjustified and incompetent.

Tatabe had filed a lawsuit against his party, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mr. Muhammed Kumaila, and three other people, saying that their candidacy for the Borno Central senatorial seat on February 25 had been unlawfully substituted.

In the PDP primary held on May 23, 2022, the plaintiff was declared the winner for the Borno Central Senatorial seat.

However, he voluntarily withdrew from consideration as the PDP candidate in the upcoming Borno State senate election in a letter dated July 14, 2022.

Following his withdrawal, the party had a new primary on July 15, 2022, which resulted in Kumaila being chosen as the party’s nominee.

As a result, the PDP gave INEC Muhammed Kumaila’s name, which the electoral umpire then announced as the PDP candidate for the Borno Central senatorial race.

However, the plaintiff claimed in his lawsuit with the filing number FHC/ABJ/CS/1240/2022 that, contrary to the defendant’s contention, he did not withdraw from the senatorial election and added that the letter of withdrawal, which included his signature, was forged.

Therefore, he requested that the court reject the aforementioned letter of withdrawal, dismiss Kumaila, and recognize him as the legitimate candidate for the party.

Justice Nwite, who rendered the decision in the case on Tuesday, concurred with the PDP and Kumaila that the plaintiff’s case was flawed since it had been initiated by an originating summons rather than a writ of summons.

According to the judge, the claim of forgery is criminal in character and requires proof that is unequivocally true.

While a case is decided by just documentary evidence in an originating summons, witnesses must be called to provide both oral and documentary evidence in a case started by a writ of summons.

In a criminal case like this, the judge dismissed the case as a result of the plaintiff’s failure to present witnesses to support his claims.

Prepare for the worst if you want to serve Nigeria – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari says whoever is interested in serving Nigeria needs to be prepared for the “worst”.

According to a statement on Tuesday by Femi Adesina, presidential spokesperson, Buhari said this on Monday at a state banquet in his honour in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe.

Speaking about his administration’s fight against corruption, the president said curtailing the menace has “not been easy” under the current system operated by Nigeria.

“In the north-east, God has helped us to clear Boko Haram; the economy has picked up, and some people are asking me about the achievements of my promise to fight corruption,” he said.

“Well, under this system, fighting corruption is not easy. When I was in the military, as head of state, I locked up some people because the constitution says you must declare your assets, and people who couldn’t explain the differences in their assets, I locked them up. In the end, I was also locked up.

“So, if you want to serve this country, you must be prepared for the worst. But one thing that I am grateful to God for is that nobody can blackmail me.”

The president also said he doesn’t have any land outside Nigeria, adding that he intends to stay in the country after leaving office.

“I do not have one square inch outside Nigeria and I intend to stay in Nigeria when I retire from public office,” he said.

“As I said more than 30 years ago, we have no other country than Nigeria. We must all stay here and salvage it together.

“Between 2003 and 2019, I visited all the local government areas in this country. In 2019, when I attempted re-election, I visited every state and the number of people that came out to see who this Buhari is and was is more than what anybody can pay or force.

“So, I thank God that Nigerians understood me and I made a promise that I will serve God and Nigerians.”

Peter Obi, Kwankwaso indirectly working for Tinubu – Orji Kalu

Ahead of the forthcoming presidential election, the Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Kalu has claimed the presidential candidates of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, and the Labour, LP, Rabiu Kwankwaso and Peter Obi, respectively, are indirectly “working” for the victory of the All Progressives Congress, APC, flagbearer, Bola Tinubu, by dividing southern votes.

Kalu stated this while featuring on the Channels Television’s Political Paradigm programme aired on Tuesday.

He said the voting base of the APC in the North-West and North-East geopolitical zones remains intact.

The APC chieftain also said he does not believe in pre-election polls, which have put Obi ahead of the 18 presidential candidates, including Tinubu.

“I don’t believe in the poll; the poll is not realistic,” Kalu said.

“If the poll wants to be realistic, Kwankwaso and Peter Obi are working for us because nobody has touched our base; nobody has touched the strongest base of APC. The North-West and the North-East are our bases.

“But come to the South-East, it is divided, come to the South-South, it is divided, it is finished with Obidients. Nobody has touched our base; our base is still intact; it is as good as anything,” he said.

2023: Court stops Senator Abbo from contesting senatorial election

Elisha Abbo has been disqualified as the senatorial candidate for Adamawa North in the upcoming general election by a high court in Yola, Adamawa State.

The All Progressives Congress, or APC, was prohibited from recognizing him as such by the court as well.

Justice Danladi Mohammed announced the verdict on Monday. Senator Abbo was declared unable to run for reelection by Justice Danladi since the party had kicked him out.

The Judge further ruled that the Senator and the APC are bound by the resolution of the party’s Mubi North Local Government executives dated October 7, 2022, which expelled the lawmaker. As a result, the Judge determined that the Senator is not eligible to benefit from any privilege or right enjoyed by APC members.

Additionally, it urged Senator Abbo to withdraw from running as the party’s candidate for the zone.

In the meantime, the troubled Senator has criticized the decision, calling it a cash-and-carry judgment.