• Olaniyan: Except Tinubu, no presidential candidate should receive more than 25% of votes in the South-West Zone
• Court rejects DSS terrorist, economic crime charges against Emefiele
• Fuel queues resurface in Port Harcourt as litre sells for N300
• We’ll engage youths to fight bandits in Katsina — Dikko
• I am proud of Yahaya Bello, He has done well in security and projects – Buhari

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

Olaniyan: Except Tinubu, no presidential candidate should receive more than 25% of votes in the South-West Zone

A former deputy governor of Oyo State, Engineer Rauf Aderemi Olaniyan has advised the electorate in the South West geo-political zone not to allow any of the presidential candidates to have 25 percent votes in the zone apart from Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos state is the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 2023 general elections.

Olaniyan, a native of Oke Ogun in Oyo State made this declaration on Thursday during an interactive session with members of the Media and Publicity Committee of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in the state, led by Alhaji Kehinde Olaosebikan.

Olaniyan who doubles as Chairman, of Tinubu/Shettima Independent Campaign Council (TSGICC), enjoined the electorate in the zone to ensure that none of the presidential candidates in the February 2023 elections gets 25 percent votes in the South-West apart from Tinubu.

He said that he has the conviction that Tinubu will not play ethnic or religious cards.

Olaniyan said, “When people talk about Muslim-Muslim ticket, we know Tinubu won’t play ethnic or religious cards.

“No other presidential candidate should have 25 percent votes in the entire South West.

“Having had the opportunity to meet the members of your team, I must say that I am highly impressed with their caliber and their professional track record.

“I am also impressed by the wealth of experience and the depth of expertise you have managed to gather together here”.

Court rejects DSS terrorist, economic crime charges against Emefiele

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory on Thursday quashed moves by the Department of State Services to invite, interrogate and charge the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele.

The presiding Judge, Justice M.A. Hassan, considering the Originating Motion brought before him by the Incorporated Trustees of Forum for Accountability and Good Leadership to enforce the Fundamental rights of Mr. Emefiele, barred the secret police on the ground that such a move would impinge on Emefiele’s fundamental rights.

It was reported that the ‘Originating Motion”, was issued against the “Attorney General of the Federation, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Inspector General of Police, the State Security Service, and the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The presiding Judge also restrained the State Security Service from further harassing, humiliating, embarrassing, or threatening to incarcerate or detain Mr. Emefiele over the trumped-up allegations of terrorism financing and fraudulent practices.

The Court in reference to the earlier judgement of the orders of the Federal High Court in Suit FHC/ABJ/CS/2255/2022 delivered by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court Justice J. T. Tsoho, lashed at the secret Police and declared as vindictive any continuous harassments, intimidation, threats, restriction of free movement.

“It would constitute, abuse of right of office, surreptitious moves to arrest and humiliation of Mr. Godwin Emefiele over the trumped up allegations of terrorism financing and fraudulent practice’

“In light of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, the DSS acted wrongfully and illegally in instigating the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria against Mr Emefiele in respect of the exercise of his statutory duty relating to the issuance of monetary policies and directives in the interest of national security and the economy,” the court averred.

Fuel queues resurface in Port Harcourt as litre sells for N300

Fuel queues have resurfaced in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

It was gathered that most of the filling stations are not dispensing fuel as the scarcity of the product bites harder.

The few filling stations opened for business are selling between N290 and N300/liters.

An official of the Port Harcourt unit of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria said the scarcity is due to lack of product at the depot.

According to one of the leaders of IPMAN in Rivers State, only one private depot out of the 19 in the state are selling product for marketers.

Also, the Rivers state chairman of the Petroleum Product Retail Outlets owners Association of Nigeria, Francis Dimkpa said there is “no sufficient” product in the depots across the state.

We’ll engage youths to fight bandits in Katsina — Dikko

The gubernatorial candidate for the All Progressives Congress in Katsina State, Dr. Dikko Umar Radda, has disclosed that he will engage youths to fight bandits if he becomes the state governor in 2023.

Dikko made the remark while addressing the large crowd that turned out to receive his entourage during his campaign tour to Batsari, one of the frontline LGA prone to banditry in the state.

According to the governorship hopeful, “youths will be trained, equipped and deployed to assist security agents in fighting bandits in the state. That way, they will be gainfully employed as well as be involved in fighting criminal elements and protecting their areas from assailants.

Dikko also promised to bring to an end the drying of cassava by the roadside common in the area by providing them with machines with which they could do that easily.

The former SMEDAN Boss also noted that his policy document has encapsulated ways of boosting agriculture through mechanized farming which would be profitable to farmers in the state.

Speaking earlier, the District Head of Batsari, Alhaji Tukur Mu’azu Ruma disclosed that the APC Gubernatorial Candidate was the first to assist Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the area with two truckloads of foodstuff way back in 2019.

Tukur assured the APC governorship candidate that even if he had not visited the area, the people of Batsari will still campaign and vote for him.

I am proud of Yahaya Bello, He has done well in security and projects – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari said yesterday he was impressed by the performance of Governor Yahaya Bello in Kogi State.

The President, who was on  official visit to commission legacy projects executed by the state government,  noted that the governor had particularly done very well in the area of security and projects execution.

He specifically said the Federal Government was proud of Governor Bello, who he said had shown proof of the All Progressives Congress’ overall sterling performance in Nigeria.

Buhari said “We are an administration that prides itself in the fulfillment of our electoral promises to the Nigerian people at both national and sub-national levels. This is why I am glad that we have an impressive array of legacy projects through your own state government as proof of our stewardship in Kogi State.

“I am impressed by the performance of Governor Yahaya Bello. He has done very well in the area of security and projects execution in Kogi State. We are proud of him and we urge him to do more for the people. I am appealing to the people of Kogi State to support him, so he can achieve and deliver more dividends of democracy.”

The President, who was very happy to see the impressive projects during his visit, at the Reference Hospital, Okene, congratulated the governor again, saying “if one wants to see everything here, he will get lost.”

He added:  “I have been briefed by Yahaya and his team on the myriad of projects we would have loved to commission for you across the state, including the brand new Confluence University of Science and Technology, CUSTECH, at Osara, the Confluence Rice Mills at Ejiba, the various township roads networks at Idah, Okene and Kabba and intra-state roads in the three senatorial zones, massive erosion works at Ankpa, Ogugu and other places, as well as other roads, hospitals, schools and sundry vital infrastructure.”

The President also noted that his administration was working to reposition Kogi State as an investment hub through the activation of solid minerals in the state, promising that the Ajaokuta Steel Company would be revitalised soon.

According to him, the federal government is currently in talks with a US firm to take over the steel company.

The President said the Ajaokuta Steel Complex would generate more than $1.6 billion in annual income to the Nigerian economy and an estimated jobs of over 500,000.