₦airaland Forum

APC presidential standard-bearer Bola Tinubu has called on governors nationwide to disregard President Muhammadu Buhari’s order that N500 and N1,000 notes are illegal tenders.

Mr Buhari announced in a state address on February 16 that the old N1,000 and N500 notes were no longer legal tender and that his regime would only reissue the old N200 note, initially outlawed, until April 10.

This announcement was met with widespread opposition from governors, including Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, and House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, who stated defying the Supreme Court’s ruling to maintain the status quo was an invitation to anarchy.

In a circular shared on Friday by an APC presidential campaign spokesperson Dele Alake, the former Lagos governor urged “friendly governors” to follow suit with Mr El-Rufai’s and other governors’ actions disregarding Mr Buhari’s order in compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling.

The circular added the apex court must have the final say as globally practised in a constitutional federation.

“All friendly governors must replicate Kaduna address immediately to assure the integrity of the SC (Supreme Court) and (the) rule of law for the local & international community. This is the essence of constitutional federation with the SC having final say and follows USA best practice,” the circular stated.

Mr El-Rufai on Thursday accused the Buhari regime of plotting to instigate a military coup in Nigeria to avoid transferring power to a civilian administration when his tenure expires in May.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is plotting to instigate a military coup in Nigeria in order to avoid transferring power to a civilian administration when his tenure expires in May 2023, according to one of his allies and governor of Kaduna Nasir El-Rufai.

Mr El-Rufai’s statement on Thursday night marked a sharp escalation of the ongoing confrontation between states and the Buhari administration over the raging scarcity of new notes and petroleum products.

Mr El-Rufai, in a nationwide broadcast to Kaduna residents, said Mr Buhari has become desperate to ensure that Mr Tinubu does not emerge Nigeria’s president at the ballot box next month, saying it was the reason behind the sudden and chaotic attempt at withdrawing some important national banknotes from circulation.

“Once Asiwaju Bola Tinubu emerged as the candidate in June 2022 and subsequently did not pick one of them as his running mate, this currency redesign policy was conceived to ensure that the APC presidential candidate is deprived of what they alleged is a humongous war chest.

“They also sought to achieve any one or more of the following objectives:

“a. Create a nationwide shortage of cash so that citizens are incited to vote against APC candidates across the board resulting in massive losses for the Party in all the elections;

“b. Ensure that the cash crunch is so serious, along with the contrived and enduring fuel shortage existing since September 2022, that the 2023 Elections do not hold at all, leading to an Interim National Government to be led by a retired Army General;

“c. Sustain the climate of shortage of fuel, food and other necessities, leading to mass protests, violence and breakdown of law and order that would provide a fertile foundation for a military take-over,” Mr El-Rufai said.

A spokesman for the president did not immediately return a request seeking comments.

The announcement came hours after Mr Buhari addressed the nation on Thursday morning, saying his administration would consider relaxing the draconian currency redesign policy by allowing only the N200 notes to return to circulation. The N500 and N1,000 notes will not be returned as legal tender in Nigeria, Mr Buhari said.

Still, the president’s comment was an affront to a Supreme Court order on the controversy, which said all old notes should remain in circulation. Mr El-Rufai said Kaduna residents should disregard Mr Buhari’s position on the matter and obey the Supreme Court instead by continuing to see the notes as legal tender in the country.

Mr El-Rufai also said Kaduna residents should continue to spend the old naira notes, saying any banks that reject such transactions would be shut down.

“The Kaduna State Government and its agencies shall seal any facility that refuses to accept the old notes as legal tender and prosecute the owners,” Mr El-Rufai said. “If need be, we shall take further consequential actions according to the law.”

Kano State governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has alleged that the naira redesign policy of President Muhammadu Buhari is aimed at truncating Nigeria’s democracy.

Ganduje spoke late Wednesday in Kano when he met with the Forum of Former Parliamentarians, North-West zone, that visited to intimate him of their resolve to support the presidential ambition of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Kano State is one of the states before the Supreme Court challenging the legality of the policy. Ganduje’s allegation came in the wake of the hardship Nigerians are passing through in accessing the new N200, N500 and N1, 000 notes.

President Buhari had in his address to Nigerians on Thursday said the naira swap was meant to tame inflation and other infractions. The Kano governor is previously not known for openly criticising President Buhari as he had been one of the people that worked hard to sell the president to the electorate.

Ganduje said it was unfortunate that despite the collective efforts made by the APC to ensure Buhari’s election victories in 2015 and 2019 after several losses, the president had resolved to pay the party and those that supported him back by destroying the party that brought him to power.

He said, “Imagine someone has been contesting without winning elections until after a merger was formed. He won the election and spent four years and re-contested again and he won, now that he is about to go, he is doing nothing but to destroy the party that elected him,” Ganduje said.

On the policy, Ganduje asked why the president and CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele did not think of the policy seven years ago and why it had to be on the eve of an election.

“What is wrong with doing it after elections? Why hasn’t he done this in the past seven years? What is the meaning of all these? This CBN governor is not a politician; he doesn’t know anything about politics. How can a politician enjoy this policy? Imagine how as a leader you watch banks engulfed by fire, if not that the democracy has decayed, will that be possible?

“How is it possible when the World Bank said the policy is wrong, the IMF said it is wrong, other leaders said it is wrong, but you said you need seven days to think over it? The poor man selling vegetables will have his goods rotten (before the end of the thinking period), that is why I close down one supermarket for rejecting the old notes. The Supreme Court has said the old notes are still a legal tender, that is why any bank that refuses to collect, I will revoke their certificate and if they do that, they cannot work”, he said.

Ganduje also stated that Tinubu would revoke the policy after the election. He said the policy was not that of the ruling party but they are aware this is part of the plot to ensure elections do not hold, saying the development is similar to how MKO Abiola was denied of being president.

“It was like this at the time of SDP with the Association of Better Nigeria (ABN); the CBN governor is the ABN of this dispensation.

“Therefore, this is even beyond not wanting someone to win the election; it is democracy itself they don’t want. They want to set up an interim government committee like that of (Ernest) Shonekan.

“Which credible politician do you think they can put to head such a committee? Except you just bring people that do not represent the masses but their families, those are the ones you can bring to form interim government,” he said, adding that these people will be puppeteer to ensure only the candidate of their choice emerges victorious.

On his part, the convener of the former parliamentarian forum, Alhaji Adamu Panda, said the forum agreed that the next president should be someone who believes in the philosophy of building the people in building the nation.

He said they believed that the unwritten agreement between the North and the South must be respected and keeping the country stable and united must therefore be of importance to all.

“Support for power-shift is therefore necessary for us,” he said.

The forum also said the North backing any other presidential candidate aside from Tinubu could jeopardise the budding relationship between the North and the South, which could see the South West seek alliances elsewhere.

Efforts to get the reaction of the presidency on what Ganduje said were not successful at the time of going to press.

President Buhari yesterday in his national broadcast declared that old N500 and N1000 notes were no longer legal tender, contrary to the Supreme Court’s injunction of February 8 restraining the CBN and federal government from phasing out the old notes by February.

The apex bank had redesigned N200, N500 and N1000 notes late last year and set a deadline of January 31 for the use of old naira notes. Buhari directed Nigerians to swap the affected currencies at the CBN and other designated places.

But after intense pressure, the CBN extended the deadline to February 10.

Some governors had filed a suit at the Supreme Court two days to the deadline and the court restrained the CBN from banning the use of the old naira notes from February 10, 2023, but Emefiele had said there was no need for the deadline to be shifted.

In his broadcast, Buhari acknowledged the hardship Nigerians are going through as a result of the naira redesign policy, saying he had directed the CBN to make new notes available.

He extended the validity of only old N200 notes to circulate as legal tender with the new N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes for 60 days from February 10, 2023 to April 10 2023.

The Kogi State Government, on Wednesday, said that the trial of some persons working with the State government or close to the State Governor, Yahaya Bello, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was targeted at silencing Bello and distracting him from mobilising votes for the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The State government, therefore, said no matter how the godfathers of the chairman of EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, try to shield him from facing the consequences of disobeying court orders, he remained a convict that must join others in the correctional centre to be purged of contempt of Court.

Responding to what it described as EFCC’s laughable excuse for not obeying a court order that committed Bawa to prison for contempt of court, the Kogi State government noted that unless his conviction was set aside or vacated by the same Court or a higher Court, Bawa remained a convict.

The State’s Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, who spoke during a press briefing in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, noted that the EFCC’s recent despairing attempt to embarrass and intimidate some Kogi State Government officials and persons related to Governor Bello, was nothing “but the classic naked dance of a hen whose anus has been unfurled by the wind of truth.”

He noted that regardless of any appeal filed, the conviction and jail term imposed by the Court on Bawa stand until set aside, adding that “if Bawa is not at large, the honourable thing to do is to turn himself in and stop avoiding justice.”

He added that the EFCC boss was deliberately misinforming the public with unfounded claims and outright lies “to satisfy his interested, power-drunk paymasters.”

Fanwo said Bawa “might cry his eyes out that people under investigation are instigating the populace against him” but the fact remained that he had allegedly “been found to be a chronic liar, a vindictive tormentor of the innocent and a hater of justice. These are enough to make people protest!

Ahead of next month’s governorship election, six campaign coordinators of the Bauchi State All Progressives Congress (APC) Gubernatorial Campaign Council have defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The defection, which came at a time when Bauchi governorship candidates have intensified campaign efforts to woo voters, has created a vacuum in the retired Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar’s camp.

The chairman of the coordinators, Comrade Nasiru Khalid, disclosed the decision to dump the party at the Banquet Hall, Government House, Bauchi.

He said the progressive blueprint of the PDP led administration in Bauchi lured them to the party, adding that they will contribute immensely to the victory of the party in the state.

Khalid said their unanimous decision to defect to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) followed due consultation with their followers at the grassroots.

He said the delegation will continue to mobilise and canvass votes for candidates under the platform of the PDP considering the party’s blueprint which according to him will be beneficial to citizenry.

Earlier, Bauchi State governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed said his administration has improved the living standard of citizens through massive empowerment despite the economic challenges, saying more dividends of democracy will be delivered if reelected.

The governorship candidates expelled by the African Action Congress plan to hold a meeting with Festus Keyamo, spokesperson for the Presidential Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC-PCC) on Wednesday, SaharaReporters has learnt.

SaharaReporters learnt the estranged AAC candidates plan to meet with Keyamo to sell their loyalty to the ruling All Progressives Congress and its presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.



The party had expelled four of its governorship candidates: Iboro Otu, Akwa Ibom; Ray Kene, Enugu; Ahmed Aliyu, Kwara and Dr. David Joel Charima, Taraba over “gross violation of the party’s constitution.”



It was learnt that the meeting would be held to iron out monetary and other benefits they would get to switch alliances from the AAC to the APC.



“They have a meeting with Festus Keyamo on Wednesday. They plan to meet Keyamo to sell themselves to APC and Tinubu,” a source told SaharaReporters on Tuesday night.



The concerned state chapters of the AAC expelled the candidates after they refused to reply to queries issued to them within the stipulated period. Their actions or inactions were deemed to be “insubordination” to the party’s constitution and punishable under the same law.



Chariman of Taraba State was queried for engaging in anti-party activities but he ignored the query, prompting his expulsion.



Similarly, in Akwa Ibom State, Otu disregarded a query bordering on “gross violation of the constitution, set rules, and directives of the African Action Congress.”



The expelled candidates were “advised to desist from further transacting any business whatsoever on behalf of the Party or parading” themselves as its representatives.



Meanwhile, in a letter signed by four AAC governorship candidates, the party was asked to reconsider the punishment meted out to their colleagues.



The letter was signed by Akeem Olayiwola, Lagos; Joseph Obele, Rivers State; Olugbeja Mekunnu, Oyo; and Benjamin Ewaoche, Benue State.



The statement read in part, “We humbly wish to appeal that the four (4) Governorship Candidates. They are Iboro Otu- Akwa Ibom. Ray Kene- Enugu; Ahmed Aliyu - Kwara and Dr. David Charima of Taraba state.



“Sir, we are solicitors in this regards. We are careful not to say anyone is wrong or right. But we cannot be careful to say our party needs unity and not division, we have however, spoken to ourselves (the candidates) and ready to work with the party and to get the desired results. We hereby appeal that the National Executive Council should reconsider our brethren, and consider others in various positions carrying the flag of the party with them in the states (Deputies, Senate's, etc.).”

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has said he will continue with the legacies and programmes of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Speaking at the APC presidential rally in Owerri, Imo State, Tinubu described Buhari’s eight-year reign as a retooling process of the economy battered by the PDP’s 16-year rule.

He said if elected he would invest in education, and real estate, build infrastructure and be prudent with resources.

Tinubu said, “We will continue with the developmental programmes of APC. It will not stop.”

Buhari, who handed over APC’s flag to Tinubu, said, “We are here today. We are very grateful for your timeout. We are very grateful for your support, and I can assure you that Asiwaju is going to deliver as the next President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Also speaking, the Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma, assured the party that his state would vote for APC in the February 25 presidential election.

The Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, said the Igbo would vote for APC because of the second Niger Bridge constructed by the Buhari administration.

The director of special operations and new media directorate of the APC presidential campaign council Chief Femi Fani Kayode is currently been quizzed by the DSS.

Reason been FFK has reacted to newspaper reports about how Atiku Abubakar the presidential candidate of the opposition PDP held a close door meeting with top military brass in Abuja last week.

Abuja network news sent an enquiry to Mr. FFK about an invitation by the DSS in that regards and Mr. FFK responded in the affirmative saying he will present himself to the DSS this morning because the invitation was said to be related to national security.

Around 10:00am this morning Mr. FFK's Senior Special Assistant Mr. Ayo Akanji confirmed to Abuja network news that Mr. Fani Kayode is in DSS office answering questions and promised to brief the medium of any development arising thereof.

Independent findings by Abuja network news reveals the possibility that Atiku Abubakar and the Aso rock cabal are using every firepower in their arsenal in an attempt to silent Mr. FFK who by far is their biggest opposition.

Those forces against Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu wants to reduce the strength of the APC presidential campaign in these last days by cutting off the voice,face and person of FFK.

It can be recalled that some major stakeholders in the PDP has been calling on the DSS to arrest Mr. Fani Kayode ever since he made such comments about Atiku and PDP planning a coup d'etat with intent to enthrone an interim national government.

What was unclear was if the invitation by the DSS was absent any external influence why was the DSS reluctant to invite Mr. Dino Melaye of the opposition PDP for questionings despite the disparaging and insightful comments he has been dishing out throughout the campaign period.

All eyes are on the DSS to see how they handle this FFK invitation and an attempt will be made to uncover the motive behind the said invitation.

All Progressives Congress vice presidential candidate Kashim Shettima says northerners should ditch Atiku Abubakar for his opposition to the enactment of Sharia rule across the region.

Addressing party faithful at an APC local government conference, Mr Shettima urged the northern voters to reject Mr Abubakar at the February 25 polls because he fought against the Islamic legal system in the North.

“This person you call your own says you should not call him ‘Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, but rather Atiku Abubakar,” Mr Shettima told his audience in the Hausa language. “Your person says he is the only person that fights against Sharia in the north. Is that your person?”

The APC vice presidential candidate’s remarks is his latest attempt to whip up ethno-religious rhetoric against the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate.

Peoples Gazette had recently reported how Mr Shettima, at Emir Palace in Daura, Katsina, publicly challenged Mr Abubakar to come out and mention eight people he has mentored in the North; or the capital projects he executed in the North while he served as Nigeria’s vice president between 1999 to 2007.

Mr Shettima told his audience that Mr Abubakar’s presidency would not serve the North’s ethno-religious interests.

The Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai has again come hard on the presidency, saying he no longer believes in the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Recall that sequel to the recent cash policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, the governor had raised the alarm that some elements in the presidency were working against the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.

The governor, who vowed that those in Tinubu’s camp would defeat the cabals, said they would be unmasked in due time.

Speaking with Channels TV last week, El-Rufai alleged that some persons in the presidency who backed another aspirant during the APC primary election were using Buhari to actualize their plans.

Similarly, in an interview with Premium Times, the governor declared that though he still believes in Buhari, he no longer trusts those working around him.

“I believe in Buhari, I still do and I will never stop, but I no longer believe in the circle around him and the quality of decisions and actions coming out of that leadership,” El-Rufai said.

The Armed Forces of Nigeria notes with dismay the story being peddled around by some unscrupulous elements alleging that some military officers met with one of the Presidential candidates with the aim of disrupting the general elections and setting the country on fire.

A statement by the Defence spokesperson, Bridgadier-General Tukur Gusau says the malicious propaganda indicated that a so-called Thursday meeting is plotting a Coup d’etat to establish unconstitutional order.

The military says it is disheartening that even politically exposed persons can denigrate themselves into joining agents of destabilization and violence in making false claims just to heighten tension in the polity. The statement says that the Armed Forces of Nigeria is a professional military that is loyal to the Constitution of the Federal Republic and will never be part of any evil plot against democracy.

It emphasizes that the Military remains apolitical and neutral in the current political process and will not engage in the alleged shenanigans. The statement adds that the Armed Forces of Nigeria will never be part of any ignoble plot to truncate the hard-earned democracy.

The Military warns that those who engage in fabricating and spreading unfounded misinformation will be invited by the appropriate law enforcement agencies to substantiate their claims. It advises the general public to disregard such information and go about their normal activities.

Former Minister of Aviation and chieftain of All Progressives Congress APC, Femi Fani-Kayode, in a tweet on his verified handle @realFFK, said: “There are reports that @atiku had a secret meeting with serving military Generals in Abuja on Thursday. If true, it is troubling & has implications. What was the purpose? Why would a presidential candidate be having secret meetings with soldiers 14 days before the election?”

Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) claimed to be loyalists of the Borno State Governor, Babangana Zulum, defected to the Labour Party (LP) weeks to the 2023 general elections.

Receiving the defectors at NLC’s Multi-Purpose Hall in Maiduguri on Friday, the acting secretary of LP in Borno State, Ishaku Yakubu said the defectors were loyalists of the Governor who resigned their membership of the APC to the Labour Party.

Yakubu assured the defectors that they would not regret joining the Labour Party, saying “everyone has equal rights in the LP”.

According to him, “in Labour Party, there is no discrimination, we are all equal, you that joined today are equal in status as we are, we are a one and united family”.

He urged all aggrieved members of the APC and PDP in Borno State to join the Labour Party in defeating APC in this year’s general elections.”

Declaring their support for the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, and the governorship candidate in the state, Ibrahim Kadafur, the leader of the defectors, Modu Gana Gudumbali said they decided to join LP because APC has brought hardship to Nigerians.

“We were loyal to our former boss Governor Zulum but we are not gaining anything in that government because the APC are not ready to listen to us, they are not given us room to know our problems in Northern Borno, particularly Gubio, Mobbar, Abadam and Guzamala.

“Five thousand of us decampees (sip) to Labour Party among us is Mustapha Kaka Gubio, Modu Mala APC, Isa Gabchirima, we well known by the Governor as diehard of the APC”.

“The ruling All Progressives Congress had sacked many teachers in Borno, look at issues of naira swap, many IDPs are now don’t have something to eat, no security, no electricity”.

“As far as I am concerned, there is no other candidate who has come up to offer what Obi is offering to the people of Nigeria.

“We want government that will be run by the patriotic people not by social media propaganda,” he said.

The Peoples Democratic Party in Ebonyi on Friday received scores of defectors from the All Progressives Congress in the state.

The party’s governorship candidate, Dr IfeanyiChukwuma Odii, who welcomed the defectors in Abakaliki, said the PDP is ready to win in the forthcoming general elections.

“PDP as a transformed party has brought lots of transformation to Ebonyi before the mandate was stolen away, but we are moving forward to reclaiming it.

“I want to assure our people that by the special grace of God, we will attend to our manifesto. When we come on board, we will make sure that every child in the state will have access to education.

“We will create wealth for the people, suffering will be erased and there will be jobs for the youths.

“This movement today shows that PDP is one family and we will continue to unite for victory. Our party believes in peace and hopes the election will be peaceful.

“You are welcome to the umbrella, where you belong today, which is capable of accommodating everyone in Ebonyi and Nigeria.

He, therefore, urged residents of the state to vote for the PDP from top to bottom.

Emenike Jeff, who led the defectors from Ugwuagu-Ndieto Ward 2, Izzi Local Government Area of the state, said their decision to join PDP was to support a candidate with good character for a better Ebonyi and Nigeria at large.

“When I was in APC, there were lots of things we saw that I don’t like, and as a peace-loving person, I have to leave to join the PDP.

“I strongly believe in peace and we will join hands to deliver PDP in my community and my local government,” he said.

Manir Muhammad Dan Iya, deputy governor of Sokoto, has denied resigning from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Aminu Abubakar, Iya’s director of press, told TheCable in a telephone chat on Thursday that his principal is still a member of the PDP.

In a viral letter circulating online on Thursday, the Sokoto deputy governor allegedly wrote to his ward chairperson that he has resigned from the PDP.

The deputy governor of Sokoto State, Mannir Dan’iya, has allegedly sealed a $5million cross-carpeting deal to defect to the All Progressives Congress, APC, on Thursday.

DAILY NIGERIAN gathered that deputy governor, who is currently the Sokoto North senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, will be received by President Muhammadu Buhari into APC today.

Mr Buhari is expected to lead the presidential rally of the APC in Sokoto on Thursday and present the party’s presidential standard-bearer, Bola Tinubu to the people of the state.

In a letter dated February 8, 2023 and addressed to the Kware Ward PDP chairman, the deputy governor said, “I write notify you of withdrawal of my membership from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with effect from 8! February 2023. I appreciate the opportunities given to me, which made me serve in various capacities under the PDP.”

But inside sources said, several meeting were held in Sokoto and Abuja with the APC leader in the state, Aliyu Wamakko, and some top leaders of the party at the instance of Mr Dan’iya’s godfather, Ummarun Kwabo.

Mr Ummarun Kwabo had earlier in January defected to the APC, following Governor Aminu Tambuwal’s refusal to endorse the governorship ambition of Mr Dan’iya.

A source familiar with the meetings told our correspondent that the ruling party had made a lot of promises to him if he defects to APC, withdraws from senatorial contest for Mr Wamakko and be refunded the money he spent on the senatorial ambition.

“They offered him $5 million as compensation to withdraw from the senatorial contest for Alu [Wamakko] and join the APC. They know that PDP is a threat to them in Sokoto Central, so they are doing everything possible for Alu to go back to senate.

“They also promised Mannir’s cases with anti-corruption agencies will be dropped if he agreed to join the APC tomorrow,” said a source who preferred anonymity.

Efforts to speak with Mr Dan’iya were unsuccessful as his mobile numbers were switched off.

Attorney general of Nigeria Abubakar Malami is a public enemy in the footsteps of the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, the Bola Tinubu presidential campaign says.

In a tweet, the campaign’s spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, stated that Mr Malami is also a “public enemy like Emefiele.”

Mr Onanuga was reacting to the preliminary objection filed by the justice minister through his lawyers Mahmud Magaji and Tijanni Gazali, asking the Supreme Court of Nigeria to dismiss the suit filed by three northern governors to stop the implementation of the CBN’s naira redesign policy.

Governors Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna, Yahaya Bello of Kogi, and Bello Matawalle of Zamfara had dragged the federal government and the CBN before the apex court seeking to stall the implementation of the naira redesign policy on the grounds that the notice timeline was short and did not fulfil the reasonable notice obligation imposed by law.

The governors also accused the presidency of not doing enough to facilitate the transition of the notes.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime has argued that the Supreme Court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the suit.

The AGF also contended that the “plaintiffs have equally not shown the reasonable cause of action against the defendant.”

Information minister Lai Mohammed on Tuesday accused opposition parties of legally hamstringing President Muhammadu Buhari from providing relief for Nigerians battling hardship of cash crunch following CBN’s and banks’ failure to allow enough cash circulation in the country.

Mr Mohammed blamed the unnamed parties at the 23rd edition of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration scorecard series (2015-2023).

The minister claimed the Buhari regime was mindful of the inconveniences endured by citizens because of its new naira banknotes and fuel scarcity.

Mr Mohammed said it was surprising that some opposition political parties ran to court to obtain an injunction restraining Mr Buhari and the CBN from extending the February 10 deadline for Nigerians to exchange their old notes for new ones.

“The court action came after a number of opposition parties threatened to boycott the 2023 general elections if the deadline was extended. These curious actions by the parties concerned is clear evidence that the opposition has turned this whole issue into a political game, preferring to make Nigerians suffer more on the altar of unconscionable political gamesmanship,” Mr Mohammed alleged.

The minister added, “Or how else can one explain the fact that these unscrupulous opposition parties do not want any action that could reduce the pains being experienced by Nigerians?”

According to the minister, the opposition parties are playing dirty politics by putting their interests above that of Nigerians’.

He said the desperate actions would not make the political parties win at the polls because voters see them public enemies.

The minister recalled that after a meeting with governors of his All Progressives Congress, the president urged Nigerians to give him a seven-day window to resolve hiccups in implementing the new naira scheme.

“Thirteen” out of the 18 political parties in Nigeria have threatened to withdraw from the February 25 and March 11 general elections in Nigeria over the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

At a briefing by a coalition of chairmen of political parties on Monday, the “13 parties” commended President Muhammadu Buhari on the redesign of the N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes.

The parties said they won’t be interested in the elections if the new deadline of February 10, 2023 is shifted as demanded by some governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The “13 parties” also knocked the Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara State Governments for heading to the Supreme Court to get court injunction to extend the deadline for the validity of three old notes.

The National Chairman of the Action Alliance, Kenneth Udeze, who briefed the pressmen, said, “We hereby announce that at least 13 out of the 18 political parties in Nigeria will not be interested in the 2023 general elections and indeed we shall withdraw our participation from the electoral process if this currency policies are suspended or cancelled or if the deadline is further shifted.”

The CBN on October 26, 2022, announced its plan to redesign the three banknotes. The President subsequently unveiled the redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes on November 23, 2022, while the apex bank fixed a January 31 deadline for the validity of the old notes.

The CBN also pegged its weekly cash withdrawal limits to N500,000 for individuals and N5m for corporate firms.

With cries by many Nigerians, the apex bank extended the deadline from January 31 to February 10, saying it got the approval of the President.

Buhari on Friday after a meeting with some APC governors asked for seven days to make a major decision on the policy.

The zonal chairman maintained that El-Sudi's decisions have resulted in disaffection and disharmony in the state chapter of the party.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Saturday sacked the Chairman of its Taraba State chapter, Ibrahim El-Sudi, over alleged continuous engagement in activities adjudged to be against the progress of the party.

Briefing journalists in Jalingo, the state capital, the APC's South Zonal Chairman, Dauda Ayuba Dakinjo, said El-Sudi was sacked because he continued to fan the embers of discord and rancour to the detriment of the progress of the party in the state.

According to Dakinjo, since he became the state chairman of the party, El-Sudi makes all the decisions by himself or together with some of his stooges through whom he implements them.

The zonal chairman maintained that El-Sudi's decisions have resulted in disaffection and disharmony in the state chapter of the party.

Dakinjo said, “His attitude has ridiculed APC, disaffection, and unnecessary litigation.

"Don't forget, a few days ago, the Supreme Court canceled the gubernatorial primary election and some other primary elections held by the party in the state.

"In large part, the issues lead to litigation which resulted from El-Sudi’s inability to reconcile and accommodate varied interests within the party.

"Again, the five local government chairmen removed and replaced by El-Sudi were reinstated by the court but El-Sudi has deliberately refused to obey the judgment of the court,” he said.

Dakinjo said that despite the court ruling against El-Sudi on the removal of the five chairmen, he recently went ahead to purportedly remove two chairmen of Lau and Jalingo local government areas which caused serious tension that threatened security and peace within the entire APC family and supporters in the state.

He said, “We, the entire Exco of Taraba state APC hereby resolved to disassociate our good selves with the unconstitutional manner of removing elected officers of the Party with reference to aforementioned chairmen.

"In all, the conducts of El-Sudi to favour some party members and disfavour some, and not to provide level playing ground and fairness to all party members, has created widespread disaffection among party faithful.

"In view of all the above infractions by El-Sudi and his retrogressive style of leadership, we passed votes of no confidence on him to continue as the Taraba State APC chairman.

"We have therefore invoked the powers conferred on us by Article 21(d)(vi) of the APC Constitution and have removed him from office as the APC Chairman Taraba State."

The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, says its intelligence has uncovered plans by some politicians to assassinate the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party Atiku Abubakar.

In a statement by Emma Powerful, spokesman for the outlawed separatist group, the assassination is being plotted in the South-East to blackmail IPOB/ESN as well as the supporters of the labour party rooting for the presidency of their candidate Mr. Peter Obi.

“This group is planning to assassinate Atiku Abubakar in the southeastern part of Nigeria and claim it is done by unknown gunmen, ESN/IPOB, or the Obidient group,” the statement said.

The statement claimed that the plot will throw the nation into turmoil and will lead to retaliatory attacks on Igbos in all parts of the country.

“Ndigbo will be massacred mercilessly, and their properties will be destroyed. Even the supporters of Peter Obi will not be spared in these areas.” The statement added.

The statement further claimed that the plot will not only put the nation in unrest but will also thwart the upcoming 2023 elections.

“Their plans are to turn other ethnic groups in Nigeria against Ndigbo and possibly thwart the proposed selection process called 2023 election,” the statement said.

The separatist group through the statement put out a warning to all Igbo and labour party supporters in the country. They also threatened to mention the names of the people behind the plot if they don’t desist from their plans.

IPOB said “Ndigbo in Lagos and many major cities in Nigeria should be on alert. Plans to attack them have been perfected, and it may consume a lot of people, and many properties may be destroyed.”

“Our intelligence through the M-Branch is fighting tooth and nail to uncover their next move,” IPOB further claimed in the statement. “Many top politicians are involved in this agenda to cause a crisis in Nigeria.”

According to the PDP presidential campaign timetable, Mr Abubakar is billed to crisscross southeastern states such as Enugu and Abia this week for mass rallies.

Mr Abubakar has earlier stated that he will negotiate with IPOB on Biafra agitation if elected as president.

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Sunday morning pleaded with Nigerians to bear with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Government over the scarcity of the redesigned naira notes and the biting challenges experienced across the country.

Taking to his Twitter handle, Obi said currency redesigning was not peculiar to Nigeria, saying that the inconveniences experienced now would yield longterm economic benefits, adding however that improvements could have been made in the implementation.

The LP candidate and former Anambra State governor, further urged the CBN and commercial banks to increase efforts to make the new naira available to Nigerians.

Obi said, “The currency redesign is not peculiar to Nigeria. It is an exercise that comes with some inconvenience and pain but it has significant longterm economic and social benefits. Even though there are improvements that can be made.

“I urge Nigerians to bear with the CBN and Federal Government with the hope that the general populace and Nigeria will harvest the gains that will come with the reforms.

“We equally implore the CBN and the banks to expedite efforts to make the new currency available to small depositors and the unbanked in order to reduce the pains of my fellow Nigerians, especially the underprivileged and those living far away from banks in the rural areas.”

Sunday PUNCH reports that many Nigerians have continued to lament the unavailability and scarcity of the new notes, with the lingering scarcity of both old and new naira notes crippling economic activities nationwide.

The CBN on October 26, 2022 had announced its plan to redesign the three banknotes. The president subsequently unveiled the redesigned N200, N500 and N1,000 notes on November 23, 2022, while the apex bank fixed January 31 deadline for the validity of the old notes.

The CBN however, bowed to pressure last Sunday, after many pleas, and extended the deadline for the swapping of old naira notes with the redesigned ones till February 10, 2023, with an extra seven days grace till February 17 to return old notes directly to the CBN.

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) had assured Nigerians on Friday that in seven days time from then, he would address the woes associated with accessing the redesigned notes, promising to resolve the crisis within the stimulated time.

This is as protests have broken out in various cities across the country, with many angry about the pains and hardship citizens are being subjected to in order to have access to the new notes.

A former governor of Kano State, ex-Minister of Defence and New Nigeria Peoples Party’s presidential candidate, Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso, speaks to a group of journalists on why Nigerians should reject the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), his sacrifice for two Yoruba who were elected presidents, his plans for Nigeria and the citizens. DARE ADEKANMBI brings excerpts.



In the last decade, you have shown this quest to serve the country at the highest level. What is driving this desire to be president?

I believe you could as well ask me why I joined politics because anybody in any chosen profession will certainly want to reach the peak. I was in the civil service for 17 years and I voluntarily decided to retire and join politics in 1991. By 1992, I was deputy speaker of the House of Representatives and then governor, minister, senator and so on and so forth. You have given me an opportunity to appeal to Nigerians across the board, especially those who have credibility, capacity to join politics. I joined politics because I believe I have a lot to contribute to the development of the country. When I started in 1991, I decided not to be at the local government or even the state. I decided to go to the House of Representatives which gave me the opportunity really to meet so many good people at the National Assembly and of course people from my party then, SDP and even those in the NRC because as a presiding officer in the national Assembly, of course, I had the opportunity to work with everybody. That was the foundation I built over the years as a politician who started at that level.

Over the years, I realised that our people in this country are so good. All what they require is good leadership and that was why at the end of the Constitutional Conference and the ban on politics was lifted, we decided to come together across the country. Of course as a young man then and I am still young now, we decided to join forces to form the PDP in 1998. In 1999, I became governor of Kano State and of course, I lost my re-election in 2003. I was also lucky that, based on my performance, commitment and dedication to the party and the leadership, President Olusegun Obasanjo decided to appoint me as Minister of Defence. All the experiences in those positions are experiences that actually important for anybody who wants to vie for the office off the president of the country. It was during that time we were elected that we realised that unfortunately we just formed the PDP based on the fact that we wanted to kick out the military. When we succeeded in kicking out the military, we realised that we were together with the wrong people. We did everything possible for them to understand, but unfortunately the problem was so critical and deep-rooted. When we were struggling to supply water or electricity or other infrastructure or even education, others only believed in sharing the money among themselves at that particular time. That explains why I even lost my re-election in 2003. Along the line, many friends and I realised that something had to be done and that was why in 2013/2014 and I was governor during my second term, we thought of bringing in a positive democratic change in the country. That was why we formed the APC and five of us who were PDP governors then were part of the formation of APC. At the right time, we decamped to APC, believing that we would have a new Nigeria; a Nigeria that will be led by progressives and people who believe in the masses and the country. Unfortunately, it did not take us too much time to realise that probably the PDP at that time was even better than APC and we were very angry about that. We thought that Nigeria deserved a much better leadership than we saw in the PDP. That was why we decided together with other progressives to look for an alternative for Nigerians, especially that the two parties have been taken over by people who are so self-centred, many of them so arrogant. So, we wanted to register a political party for the 2023 elections. But unfortunately, INEC decided not to register a new party and we looked around and decided to select NNPP. We invited all our friends based on our ideology, love and empathy for Nigerians. I am so happy that within a short period of time that we decided to pitch tent with NNPP, so many people have joined us across the country. Now as it stands, we have our political structure in all the 8, 809 wards in the country and so also in all the local government areas, all the states and in all the six zones and of course at the national level. We have very credible candidates, carefully selected based on the fact that we believe this country deserves a much better leadership and this leadership depends on the personalities who will lead at various levels. We paid a lot of emphasis on credibility in picking candidates during our primaries. We believe in NNPP that whatever the problem we found ourselves today in the country was started and maintained by the two political parties, PDP and APC.

I am happy the southern part of the country, especially the South-West, is relatively peaceful and more prosperous than other parts of the country, particularly the Northern Nigeria. Today, in the North, many communities cannot go to bed peacefully, people can’t go to their farms and poverty is everywhere and of course illiteracy. I am sure you remember we have over 20m out-of-school- children in the North. All these things have to do with the mismanagement of our country by APC and PDP. That was why, for example, in Oyo State we have an engineer [NNPP guber candidate, Joshua Olukayode Popoola] who is well known to us in Abuja and I am so happy the state has got credible candidates in him and other candidates who are contesting elections. I am happy we making tremendous progress. At a stage, many people thought that we were just one of the four [leading parties] and by design and strategy, we don’t want to make too much noise. We try to be at the grass root level. NNPP, we believe, is the party to beat in the country. When you mention Rabiu Kwankwaso, the first thing that comes to mind is Kano. Well, it is good. Kano is a big state by whatever standard, especially in terms of population. Now, we have millions of people who have registered to vote and I can assure you that most of them will vote for Kwankwaso, not because I come from the state or I am a Hausa man or a Muslim, but because they believe in my performance while in office and my commitment to the state and the country.

Cracks appear to be widening on the walls of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over its presidential standard-bearer, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Daily Trust reports.

Barely a week after he raised the alarm over an alleged plot to sabotage him in the forthcoming election, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and staunch supporter of Tinubu on Wednesday re-echoed a similar position, saying elements within the presidency were working against the presidential ambition of the former Lagos State governor.

Daily Trust recalled that while addressing a campaign rally at the Moshood Abiola International Stadium, Abeokuta, Ogun State, recently, Tinubu alleged that some interests were against the elections as scheduled.

He specifically said the scarcity of fuel being experienced across the country and the redesign of the naira, the Nigerian currency, were part of the plot to sabotage him at the polls.

But he assured his supporters, who attended the rally, that neither the elections nor his victory can be stopped.

Aside from lingering fuel scarcity, Tinubu was referring to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which had on October 26, 2022, announced its plan to redesign the three banknotes.

Buhari subsequently unveiled the notes on November 23, 2022, while the apex bank fixed the January 31 deadline for their validity.

As the January 31 deadline approached, many Nigerians have been lamenting the scarcity of the new notes while the National Assembly demanded a six months extension.

However, emerging from a meeting with the president on Sunday, the apex bank boss said Buhari gave permission for the deadline to be extended to February 10.

Mixed reactions had trailed Tinubu’s comments, even as the presidential campaign organisation of the PDP candidate had berated the APC candidate of trying to blackmail President Buhari and blame the APC-led federal government over his “looming rejection by Nigerians.”



El-Rufai’s bombshell

Just as the dust raised by the Tinubu comment was about to settle, Governor Nasir El-Rufai yesterday stirred the hornet’s nest when he declared that elements in the Presidency were working against Tinubu’s candidature.

El-Rufai, who spoke on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme, said those people backed a different aspirant in the APC presidential primaries but the aspirant did not win the ticket. According to him, people are now hiding behind President Buhari to pursue their interests.

“I believe there are elements in the villa who want us to lose the election because they didn’t get their way; they had their candidate. Their candidate did not win the primaries.

“They are trying to get us to lose the election, and they are hiding behind the president’s desire to do what he thinks is right,” he said.

Aisha, wife of the president yesterday backed El-Rufa’i over his claim that some elements in the presidency are plotting to sabotage Tinubu’s victory.

The first lady, who wields great influence in the Villa, voiced her support for El-Rufai when she shared a clip of the interview containing the governor’s main allegation against the saboteurs who are non-members of the party and are exploiting the president’s goodwill for their selfish ends.



El-Rufai’s comment won’t affect Tinubu’s chances – APC

The Director of Strategic Communications of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Dele Alake told Daily Trust that El-Rufai’s statement has no effect on the chances of the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Alake said the most important person in the Villa is President Muhammadu Buhari, who he said was very much in support of Tinubu and his emergence as his successor on May 29.

He said, “The statement is self-explanatory. He said some people; he never said the president.

“In your individual media houses, you have an editorial policy and there are elements within your organisations that don’t agree with those policies but they still work there.

“So it is a natural phenomenon in all organisations, in all institutions. Not all staff in organisations see issues the same way.

“The most important person is the president and Commander-in-Chief. He has spoken often and he said Tinubu is his candidate and he has appealed that we should vote for him who is coming to consolidate his achievements and address whatever challenges that would be left because he has the managerial competence, he has the intellectual acumen, he has an outstanding record of experience and performance.

“So we know that Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the candidate to beat. Asiwaju is the only fruitful candidate and that is why all of them are envious of him. But that has never won them an election and this one won’t be different”, he said.



Cabal fighting back – CSO, dons

The Executive Director, Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reforms (CODER), Dr Wunmi Bewaji, said El-Rufai’s comment is an indication that some members of the Aso Rock cabal are still aggrieved with the outcome of the APC primaries.

“The implication is these are people who are taking advantage of Buhari himself. When you say somebody is president, of course, there are a whole lot of people surrounding him.

“We heard what Governor Ortom of Benue said, of how he was prevented from seeing the president by some powerful forces within the villa. So these are people, by nature of what they do around the president, who could determine what happens in the country. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, it is the president that will be blamed by the people.

“When Asiwaju made that statement in Abeokuta, those who were ignorant of what was going on thought there is a problem between Asiwaju and Buhari. Absolutely not! The same people, this same cabal who wanted to be the one to determine who will succeed Buhari come 2023, are the same people who recruited all the people that Asiwaju defeated.

“They recruited all of them and in the end their candidates lost. This is it, but by and large, it is manifesting clearly that it is not Buhari that is against Bola Tinubu. It is the so-called cabal that he has defeated during the primaries. He defeated all their candidates and of course, they are already jittery,” Bewaji, a former member of the House of Representatives said.

On his part, a university don, Prof. Gbade Ojo said, “It is a demonstration of a party that is not cohesive. Ordinarily, there cannot but be quislins in a political party but where irreconcilable differences cannot be managed to the point of working against the flag bearer of the party, sad enough it means Mr. President is not in charge!”

Reacting, a renowned political scientist, Professor Kamilu Sani Fage of Bayero University, Kano (BUK) said the utterance from the Kaduna state governor is not strange as it is “part of Nigeria’s party politics which is devoid of any clear-cut ideologies separating the parties. Therefore, you have these 5th columnists in every part that as losers tend to sabotage and go about with the mentality of ‘if I can’t get it, no one else should.”

He said what is happening in the ruling party is similar to the face-off between Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the PDP and the G-5 governors led by Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike.

He also likened the development to a similar crisis within the then Action Group (AG) that led to the collapse of the First Republic and also a similar crisis in the then Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) in the Second Republic.

“This does not augur well for democracy. It is undemocratic and positions like this (sabotaging one’s party) is a short-sighted approach because if your party loses, the opposition will give all of you tough times,” he added.




Buhari not supporting anybody – Lai


Contacted, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, simply replied: “You want to know the names? Wouldn’t it be better for you to ask the governor?”

However, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, while reacting to El-Rufai’s statement, said officially, the government was not aware of anyone within the Presidential Villa engaging in such action.

He said the government had been fair to all candidates regardless of party affiliation and that President Muhammadu Buhari had consistently demonstrated that he was for free, fair and credible elections.

The minister, who was asked to react after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, said: “On a more serious note, one thing I can assure you is that no matter what, this administration is focused, determined to ensure free and fair elections. But I think with this administration, the most important person is Mr. President and I think he has shown by words and by deeds that he is dedicated to free, fair and credible elections.

“Fair, free, credible elections means not backing anybody. And everywhere he goes, he makes that very clear even as recently as Friday when he was in Daura, he said the same thing. If there’s anybody working against a candidate, we don’t know officially.”

Labour Party (LP) Lagos governorship candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour has has just caused a major upset by defeating 15 others vying for the office of Lagos Number One citizen in the forthcoming 2023 general elections, in an independent poll conducted on Tuesday.

Gbadebo polled a total of 7,776 votes to defeat the incumbent governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Adediran Azeez Olajide, popularly called Jandor.

While Sanwo-Olu garnered 4,711 as runner-up, Jandor had 3,250 to come a distant third in the poll.

The poll, according to the organisers, was launched on December 6, with the sole aim of ensuring excellence in the promotion of credible elections, participatory democracy, human rights, and strengthening of governance institutions for the consolidation of democracy practice around the world, adding that Nigeria is of great interest to them because of its position as the most populous black nation in the world as well as Africa’s second-largest economy.

Breakdown of the votes below:


RHODES-VIVOUR GBADEBO PATRICK (LP) – 7,776

SANWO-OLU BABAJIDE OLUSOLA (APC) – 4,711

ADEDIRAN AZEEZ OLAJIDE (PDP) – 3,250

OLUWO OLAWALE WASIU (BP) – 1,522

BALOGUN TOPE ABDULRAZAQ (AA) – 334

BRAITHWAITE AKINWUNMI ISHOLA (NRM) – 316

DOHERTY OLUFUNSO ADESHINA (ADC) – 173

UTHMAN OLAKUNLE TAOFEEK (SDP) – 141

JIM-KAMAL OLANREWAJU OLALEKAN (NNPP) – 119

DICKSON HAKEEM OLAOGUN (A) – 101

OLAYIWOLA AKEEM OLAIDE (AAC) – 92

AJAYI WASIU ADEBAYO (YPP) – 88

ADEYEMI ABIOLA ROSELINE (APP) – 34

BAMIDELE ISHOLA (ADP) – 31

ADENIPEBI MODE ADEKUNLE (ZLP) – 26

KUPOLIYI FUNMILAYO A. (APM) – 12

The Federal Government has responded to allegations by Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State that some “elements” in the Presidential Villa are working against the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

El-Rufai made the claim during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday.

The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, reacted while addressing State House Correspondents at a briefing after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari earlier that day.

Mohammed restated the President’s position that his administration will only focus on ensuring a free fair and credible elections and not favour or cause anyone to be at a disadvantage.

He further contended that if there is anyone working against any candidate, it is officially not known.

In the question-and-answer session, the information minister equally reacted to Tuesday’s rating by Transparency International released.

He underscored that the government has very impressive records based on achievements by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Crimes Commission (ICPC), among others, and is therefore not bothered about the ratings.

The minister noted that the administration’s fight against corruption is not to impress Transparency International but to engender growth in the country, politically and economically.

Citing instances where returned assets and funds have been channeled to developing infrastructure and welfare projects, Mohammed asserted that the government’s anti corruption drive has been successful.

Alhassan Bawu, the Bauchi State campaign director of the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has dumped the party for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He said he was switching camp to the PDP alongside other officials of the party in the North-East.

Mr Bawu stated at a news conference in Bauchi on Tuesday that all the chairmen of the party, state and zonal officers, and national officers from the zone have also defected to support the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

He said the defection was informed by the lack of structure of the LP at state, local and ward levels, adding that “the LP is not strong and won’t be able to win a single seat in the region.

“We are officially declaring that all the North-East executives of the Labour Party are defecting to PDP to support Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

“We don’t want to waste our votes, and we want to use this time to mobilise votes to who has the capacity to win the election,” he said.

He said the decampees preferred the PDP above other political parties because they believed the party and its presidential candidate could handle the country.

“If we support Atiku, we know that our votes will help him in becoming the president of this country,” he said.

It’s about time!

#BAT23

Suspected members of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) have distributed huge amounts of old notes to scores of commuters in the Lake Chad Basin ahead of the deadline of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) cashless policy, sources have said.

Our correspondent gathered that the incident occurred after Mairari village, along the Maiduguri/Monguno highway on Saturday in Guzamala LGA of Borno State.

A source told the Daily Trust in Maiduguri that the ISWAP members were dressed in military camouflage and drove two gun trucks.

A resident, Bakura Ibrahim, said the insurgents positioned themselves under a tree and stood by the roadside with bags of old naira notes.

“We left Monguno at about 12 noon. As we approached Mairari, there were no existing checkpoints in the area; we were apprehensive.

“They stopped us and asked if we were going to Maiduguri, then they started giving each person 100,000 old naira notes, but we could not believe it. They gave each occupant of the Golf Volkswagen,” Bakura said.

Another source added, “The group simply told us, “If you think you can go to their banks and change it to new naira, go and do so; may Allah make it beneficial to you.”

In the aftermath of judgement by the Osun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has provided clarifications on the discrepancy related to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

The tribunal ruling on Friday nullified the election of Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Ademola Adeleke amid over-voting and additional votes for Adegboyega Oyetola (All Progressives Congress) putting him ahead of Adeleke.

A former Director, Voter Education and Publicity, INEC, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, who made a live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, said there should not have been a discrepancy in the 2022 Osun State governorship election.

Osaze-Uzzi explained that the APC obtained a certified copy of the initial server report before some of the data had been transmitted by the BVAS hardware.

He, however, pointed out that the verdict was not a unanimous judgement.

“The second [tribunal] member – the honourable justice who dissented from his two colleagues – said, ‘I would rather use the primary source of this information, and the primary source of this data is actually the machine itself,'” the INEC official said.

“It is basically a computer. So, rather than go to the server where it transmitted data, I would use the printout from the machine itself.

“The machines were tendered, so were the reports from the server, and there ought not to have been a discrepancy, but somewhere along the line, not all the data had been transmitted at the time the APC obtained the certified copy of the initial server report.”

Osaze-Uzzi, however, described the judgement as a validation of the role BVAS has played in enhancing the electoral process.

Rather than view the discrepancy from a negative perspective, he encouraged stakeholders to take a more optimistic outlook, arguing that BVAS exposed the over-voting in the election.

“It was BVAS that exposed that as it were, and the fact that the BVAS report was relied on. But we have to be careful; which of the BVAS reports was relied on? Was it what was transmitted to the server – to the back-end – or was it the BVAS itself?” he posed.

According to him, there is a need to break the verdict of the tribunal. He added that the majority of the tribunal – “the chairman and the second member” – relied on the initial report and the initial report of the back-end, duly certified by INEC.

“It was downloaded from the server [after it was] transmitted. But a couple of days later – INEC used the word ‘synchronised’, I’m not too sure I like that word, but – you synchronise it and say, ‘Have all the results been transmitted – has all data been transmitted from the machine, BVAS itself, to the server?’

“The machine is a physical one and then it transmits to a physical one. It now went, checked and said, ‘There’s a problem here.’ The BVAS report now downloaded itself, [we] now brought it out and examined each BVAS machine and now found out that no, some data was not transmitted to the server,” Osaze-Uzzi said.