Newspaper headlines for Tuesday, 21st March 2023

*NIGERIAN NEWSPAPER HEADLINES

1. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Similanayi Fubara has been declared the winner of Rivers State governorship election. Announcing the result in Port Harcourt on Monday night, the Returning Officer said Fubara secured 302,614 votes, while the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Pastor Tonye Cole came second with a total number of 95,274 votes.

2. Senator Uba Sani of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been declared winner of the Kaduna governorship election. Declaring the result, the State Collation Officer, Prof. Lawal Suleiman Bilbis said Sani polled 730,002 votes, while Hon. Mohammed Isa Ashiru of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored a total of 719,196 votes.

3. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday declared the Adamawa State governorship election inconclusive. Speaking after collating results from all the 21 local government areas of the state, the collation officer, Professor Muhammad Lamin Mele said the number of cancelled votes exceeded the difference between the two leading candidates.

4. The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia has been declared winner of the Benue State governorship election. According to results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Alia scored the highest votes to beat his closest rival of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) Titus Uba.

5. The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), under the leadership of its President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has urged Muslims across the country to look out for this year’s Ramadan after sunset on Wednesday.

6. The Peoples Democratic Party in Delta State yesterday called on the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, to accept his defeat in Saturday’s governorship election in the state. The governorship candidate of the PDP, Sheriff Oborevwori, who is the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, defeated Omo-Agege, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress.

7. The Peoples Democratic Party in Katsina State has rejected the results of Saturday’s governorship election in the state. The Director General of the PDP Campaign Council in the state, Dr Mustapha Inuwa revealed the party’s position at a press conference in Katsina on Monday.

8. The European Union has knocked the Independent National Electoral Commission for failing to live up to expectations in the electoral process of Nigeria. The Chief Observer, EU Election Observation Mission, Barry Andrews, in a statement on Monday, said Nigerians hungered for democracy and were ready to be involved in the country’s democracy but the appetite was lost due to failures by the political elites and the INEC.

9. The Taraba State Police Command on Monday accused soldiers of shooting two policemen to death at a military checkpoint close to the INEC headquarters in the Jalingo area of the state.

10. The Electoral Officer and the Returning Officer for Zamfara state governorship election in Maradun local government area of the state have been kidnapped. The local government area is the hometown of Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle, who is seeking reelection.

11. INEC Declares Adamawa Governorship Election Inconclusive

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the 2023 governorship election in Adamawa State inconclusive.

The decision was announced on Monday evening in Yola at the collation centre. The election is declared inconclusive by the INEC due to the margin of the votes.

When Fufore local government results were released on Monday, Fintiri maintained his lead in the governorship election.

Aishatu ‘Binani’ Dahiru, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who is hopeful of becoming the first woman to be elected a state governor in Nigeria could not secure outright victory despite winning the Fufore LGA area.

Binani polled 24,777 votes in Fufore, whilst the PDP polled 20,409 votes.

The APC candidate, however, failed to surpass the current total voting gap between her and the state Governor.

12. Tinubu Will Turn Nigeria Into Hitler’s Nazi State – Atiku Condemns Attacks On Igbo, Fires Onanuga, Fani-Kayode

The Presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has stated that Nigeria under a Bola Tinubu Presidency will be reminiscent of Germany under Adolph Hitler’s where Jews were targeted and rights to vote and speak were suppressed.

Atiku’s Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said in a statement that the governorship election in Lagos where thugs asked those who were not planning to vote for the APC to return home was just a tip of what to expect under a Tinubu administration.

He added that it was even more disheartening that the thugs working for Tinubu were profiling voters and beating up those who were of Igbo extraction and asking them to return home

Shaibu said Tinubu’s ultimate plan was to turn Nigeria into a one party dictatorship based on the autocratic and totalitarian ideology of Nazism like Adolf Hitler did in Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

Atiku’s aide lambasted the spokesmen for Tinubu’s Campaign Council – Bayo Onanuga and Femi Fani-Kayode – for encouraging the intimidation of Igbo people in Lagos.

He said their statements were a reflection of their principal who, two days after the elections, had failed to condemn the violence.

Shaibu stated that the Nigerian constitution permits anyone in every part of the country to vote and be voted for regardless of religion, gender and tribe.

He said what Tinubu had done was to return and reverse some of the democratic gains that Nigeria had made.

13. Kidnapped INEC Officials In Matawalle’s LGA Released

The Electoral Officer and the Returning Officer for the Zamfara state governorship election in the Maradun local government area of the state have been released.

Earlier reported that the officials were abducted on their way to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Gusau, the state capital.

The spokesperson of INEC in the state, Muktari Janyau who confirmed the development to Daily Trust, said the officials were meant to deliver the result of the governorship election for Maradun Local Government when they were intercepted and taken to an undisclosed location.

The local government area is the hometown of the state Governor and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bello Matawalle who is seeking reelection.

A report by Daily Trust had it that the INEC officials have been released.

14. INEC Declares Winner Of Borno Governorship Election

The incumbent Governor and the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Babagana Zulum, has been declared winner of the Borno State governorship election.

The returning officer, Professor Jude Rabo, declared that Zulum polled 545,543 to defeat his main challenger and the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mohammed Jajari, who came a distant second, having scored 82,147 votes.

Rabo also disclosed that Zulum defeated his closest rival, Jajari with a difference of 463,396 votes.

15. Atiku Reacts To Delay In Announcing Winner Of Adamawa Guber Election

The standard bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 25 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar has called for the declaration of the Adamawa governorship election results.

Earlier reported that the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) suspended the collation of state governorship election results in the state until noon.

The state collation officer, Prof. Mohammed Mele, and Adamawa Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Yakubu Ari, made this known on Monday morning after the collation of results from 20 out of the 21 LGAs.

The electoral officials stated that the exercise was postponed to enable verification of the results from the Fufore local government area which were snatched.

But in a chat with newsmen in his Yola home on Monday afternoon, Atiku condemned the delay in the declaration of results of the governorship election, saying that there was no need for the postponement.

Atiku warned that the delay threatens the peace of the state as the uncertainty has continued to raise undue tension among the people.

The former Vice President added that votes have been uploaded on the INEC platform and PDP is winning, saying that the results of Fufore LGA will not change anything.

16. INEC Declares Winner Of Kaduna Governorship Election

The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Uba Sani, has been declared the winner of the Kaduna State governorship election.

Sani scored the highest votes to defeat his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Isa Ashiru, and other candidates.

Sani polled a total of 730,002 votes to defeat his closest rival, Isa Ashiru of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who polled 719,196 votes.

The Labour Party (LP) candidate, Jonathan Asake came a distant third after polling 58,283 votes while the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) candidate, Suleiman Hunkuyi scored 21,405 votes.

17. Two Killed, Many Injured As Policemen Clash With Soldiers In Taraba

There was pandemonium at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Collation Centre in Jalingo, Taraba state capital, on Monday.

he pandemonium resulted from a clash between soldiers and policemen guarding the INEC headquarters.

It was gathered that two policemen were killed and two others sustained injuries in the clash ahead of the declaration of the winner of the state governorship election.

Daily Trust reports that soldiers, who sent policemen away from the INEC collation centre, later invaded police headquarters and chased away police officers on duty.

It was learned that the injured policemen are currently being treated at Federal Medical Center, Jalingo.

Vehicles parked inside the police headquarters were reportedly vandalized during the incident, while sporadic shots triggered panic among residents as shops, markets, and houses were shut.

During a joint press conference, the State Police Commissioner, Suleiman Amodu, said a high-powered investigative panel would be set up to establish the cause of the incident.

The conference was attended by the Commandant, 6 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Jalingo, Brig General Frank Etim, and the state Director of the Department of State Services (DSS).

They described the incident as unfortunate, urging residents of Jalingo to go about their normal business. They said the situation had been brought under control.

18. INEC Suspends Collation Of Governorship Results In Enugu, Abia

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has suspended the collation of governorship and the house of assembly election results in Enugu and Abia States respectively.

The electoral body via a statement on Monday noted that it halted the collation for the governorship and state assembly elections held on March 18th over some irregularities in the process of result declaration.

The statement reads partly: “The commission met on Monday 20th March 2023 and reviewed the conducted of the Governorship and State Assembly elections held nationwide on Saturday 18th March 2023. Arising from the meeting, the commission took the decision to suspend forthwith, further collation of the Governorship election results in some part parts of Abia and Enugu States.

“It will be recalled that our offices in Obingwa Local Government Area were invaded by thugs on Sunday 19th March 2023 and our officials held hostage in relation to the collation of result from the Local Government Area. Similarly, reports from Enugu State call for a review of the result for the Governorship election from the two outstanding local governments of Nsukka and Nkanu East.

“Consequently, the Commission hereby suspend the collation of results in Obingwa LGAs of Abia State and two outstanding local governments of Enugu.

“A review will be undertaken immediately before the process is concluded.”

19. Nnamani Dumps PDP, Reaffirms Ties With Tinubu

A former Governor of Enugu State Governor, Chimaroke Nnamani, on Monday, announced his decision to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Nnamani declared his position in a statement he signed and made available to newsmen in Abuja, on Monday.

Recall that Nnamani had openly campaigned for the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, now President-Elect, Bola Tinubu, against the candidate of his party, Atiku Abubakar, during the 2023 elections.

Nnamani’s decision to dump PDP is coming hours after he lost his bid to return to the Senate as the lawmaker representing Enugu East.

Senator Nnamani said he has consulted with his associates and constituents alike and has decided to quit the PDP on account of irreconcilable differences with the national leadership of the party.

He said he has moved on and hoped that his modest contributions to the development of his constituency will be the building blocks on which his successors can build.

20. Ganduje Declares Dawn To Dusk Curfew As NNPP Wins Guber Election

The Kano state government has imposed a dawn-to-dusk curfew following the declaration of the state governorship election results.

In a statement issued on issued Monday morning, the state Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Muhammad Garba, said the decision was taken to avoid the breakdown of law and order in the state.

The commissioner said Governor Abdullahi Ganduje took the decision to prevent hoodlums from causing chaos in the already tense state.

Garba called on people in the state to remain indoors as security agents would not spare anyone or group bent on causing trouble.

However, the governorship candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Abba Kabir Yusuf, has been declared the winner of the Kano state governorship election.

Yusuf, who polled 1,019,602 votes, was declared the winner of the election by the returning officer in Kano, Ahmad Dokko Ibrahim.

21. INEC declares Adamawa governorship election inconclusive

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday declared last weekend’s governorship election in Adamawa State inconclusive.

22. Sanwo-Olu approves 20% salary increase for civil servants in Lagos

The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Monday approved a 20 percent salary increase for civil servants in the state.

23. Omo-Agege rejects Delta governorship election results

The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in last Saturday’s governorship election in Delta, Ovie Omo-Agege, has rejected the result of the election announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

24. APC’s Uba Sani elected as Kaduna governor

The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Uba Sani, has emerged as the winner of Saturday’s governorship election in Kaduna State.

25. INEC to conduct suspended assembly election in Benue Tuesday

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed Tuesday for the conduct of suspended State Assembly elections in Kwande Local Government area of Benue State.

26. NGX: Investors lose N15.9bn to sell-off in Stanbic IBTC, Wapic

Investors in the Nigerian capital market lost N15.9 billion following the dip in equity capitalization at the close of trading on Monday.

27. Unilever Nigeria puts up business for sale over naira devaluation

Unilever Nigeria has concluded plans to exit the Home Care and Skin Cleansing market by selling its business segment.

28. Police arrests 26 for electoral offences in Benue

Police operatives in Benue have arrested 26 suspects for various electoral offences during last Saturday’s governorship and the house of assembly elections in the state.

29. Soldiers kill two police officers in Taraba

Two police officers have been shot dead by soldiers in Taraba State.

30. NFF denies sacking Finidi, Shorunmu

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has issued a statement decrying media reports that it sacked two members of the Super Eagles’ technical crew, Finidi George and Ike Shorunmu from the team.

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