Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Saturday, 28th October, 2023
Good morning Nigeria, Welcome to the Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Saturday, 28th, October 2023.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has detained a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
According to Punch, Emefiele is currently being interrogated at the National Headquarters of the anti-graft agency, Jabi, Abuja.
It was gathered that operatives of the anti-graft agency picked Emefiele up on Thursday night, less than an hour after he was released by the Department of State Services.
A source that spoke with the platform, on Friday, revealed that EFCC is probing Emefiele over alleged impropriety during his term as the head of the apex bank.
The move to impeach the Ondo State Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has taken a different turn as eleven lawmakers of the 26-member state House of Assembly have distanced themselves from the process.
Naija News reports that 11 lawmakers include the Minority Leader, Jide Oguntodu, the Assembly’s Spokesperson, Olatunde Oshati, Japheth Oluwatoyin, Fatai Atere, Gbegudu Ololade, Allen Oluwatoyin, Stephen Abitogun, Tope Komolafe, Felix Afe, Biola Oladapo, and Olawumi Fayemi.
Recall that the Assembly Speaker, Olamide Oladiji, had a few days ago directed the Chief Judge of the State, Justice Olusegun Odusola, to constitute a panel over the 14 allegations levelled against Aiyedatiwa, as he cited the expiration of an ex-parte order given by an Abuja Federal High Court. Justice Odusola had earlier declined the initial request of the Assembly based on the order.
But in a statement to journalists, the 11 lawmakers accused the Speaker of unilaterally writing the Chief Judge to set up a seven-man probe panel against Aiyedatiwa despite a subsisting court order.
The Election Petition Tribunal in Benin, Edo State, has annulled the election of Destiny Enabulele of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the member representing the Ovia South West constituency in the State House of Assembly.
Naija News understands that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sunday Aghedo, had approached the court to challenge the declaration of Enabulele as the winner of the election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In its ruling on Friday, the Tribunal ruled that the election was filled with irregularities and malpractices.
The Tribunal added that the evidence presented by Aghedo and the APC was more credible and, hence, declared the APC candidate as the rightful winner of the election held on 15 March 2023.
Former President, Goodluck Jonathan, on Friday, met with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Jonathan, while speaking at the end of the meeting, described himself as a “roving ambassador”.
The former President spoke while fielding questions from State House reporters after a closed door meeting with President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Jonathan revealed that he came to brief President Tinubu on his regional, continental, and international assignments.
He further stated that he used the visit to congratulate him on his victory at the apex court.
A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bode George, has reacted to the judgment of the Supreme Court affirming Bola Tinubu as President.
Naija News recalls that the Supreme Court, on Thursday, threw out the petition of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi.
George, speaking on Tinubu’s victory at the apex court said he is not in a haste to congratulate the President over his victory.
He maintained that hurrying to congratulate the president might lead to a blunder, particularly since he has not digested the details of the ruling.
The Minister of State for Labour, Hon. Nkiruka Onyejeocha, has asked President Bola Tinubu to ignore calls by some youth in the Labour Party (LP), for her appointment to be revoked.
The minister said the call for the termination of her appointment was another campaign against her and nothing else, hence it should be ignored.
Onyejeocha’s reaction follows a call by the Labour Party to the President to relieve the minister of her appointment because she has allegedly lost focus.
The National Youth Leader of the party, Prince Kennedy Ahanotu, at a press briefing claimed that the minister had lost her focus and failed to concentrate on the assignment given to her.
Ahanotu also accused the minister of being responsible for some crises within the Labour Party.
The presidential candidate of the People Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023 general elections, Atiku Abubakar, on Friday, made his first public appearance after the Supreme Court judgement.
Naija News reports that the apex court on Thursday dismissed all appeals against the victory of President Bola Tinubu, upholding the decision of the tribunal which sat at the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
Atiku submitted an application to present fresh evidence against Tinubu in respect of the diploma certificate from Chicago State University (CSU) which the president presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
But the court said it had no jurisdiction to receive fresh evidence.
However, in a social media post, the PDP candidate, hours after the judgement, went for Jumat prayer at the national mosque in Abuja and shared photos.
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi, have kept mum over the judgment of the Supreme Court on the 2023 presidential election.
Naija News reports that the apex court, on Thursday, upheld the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25 presidential election.
The apex court, in its ruling, dismissed the appeals by Atiku and Obi over claims of fraud, electoral law violations, and Tinubu’s ineligibility to run for president, for lacking merit.
A seven-judge panel, led by Justice Inyang Okoro, thrashed all the grounds of appeal of Atiku and the PDP on qualification, non-compliance with the Electoral Act, the 25% votes in FCT, and electoral malpractices.
The PDP candidate had also sought to introduce new evidence with claims that Tinubu submitted a forged certificate from the Chicago State University as a qualification to the election commission when he applied to run for president.
A former Minister of Transport and Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has accused a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Usman, of writing lies against him in her book titled ‘Stepping on Toes: My Odyssey at the Nigerian Ports Authority.’
Amaechi, who served in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, stated this on Thursday at TheNiche annual lecture held at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island, Lagos, where he was the guest speaker.
Speaking on the book, Amaechi denied Usman’s claim in the book that he orchestrated her removal as the NPA Managing Director.
He said, “Some of you must have read the book written by the former MD of the NPA, ‘Stepping on Toes.’ There has been a huge debate about whether I should respond or not. The lies were too many.
“For instance, she claims that she was not indicted by the panel, but she was found guilty of all the ten counts. I even came with a copy of the memo to the President in which the President endorsed her removal.”
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Robert Clarke has said that there will be no end to electoral litigations till the 1999 Constitution is amended.
Clarke argued the the Supreme Court cannot set aside the result of a presidential election because the constitution states that whatever the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) presents is right.
The elder statesman asserted that the 1999 Constitution has given the electoral body too much power.
He stated this during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday.
Clarke statement is coming against the backdrop of the Supreme Court judgement that upheld President Bola Tinubu’s election.
He lamented that there have been about six election petitions and the Supreme Court has never invalidated any presidential election in Nigeria.
