It is very sad, most disheartening and grossly unexpected that a man of the calibre of a former Military Head of State and two-time civilian President, General Olusegun Obasanjo GCFR, could contemplate anything that could truncate Nigeria’s democratic process at this very crucial stage! General Obasanjo was the one who gave me orders to go to the war front in 1967, to fight the legendary Ore Battle, “to keep Nigeria One”. Without any attempt to undermine General Obasanjo, I believe that his intentions on the 2023 electoral process, are far from being sincere, given the fact that he openly endorsed…
Author: Olamide Obayemi
By Abimbola Oguunaike The Federal Government has called on former President Olusegun Obasanjo not to truncate the 2023 general elections with his inciting, self-serving and provocative letter on the polls. The call is contained in a statement issued on Monday, 27 February, 2023, in Abuja by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. The statement was made available to the media by Mr Segun Adeyemi, the Special Assistant to the President (Media) Office of the Minister. In the statement obtained by thegazellenews.com, Mohammed said what the former president framed as an ‘appeal for caution and rectification was nothing…
The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan has narrated how he eventually got back his ticket to contest for the Yobe North Senatorial seat after an initial setback. Lawan on Saturday, 25 February, 2023, was re-elected into the Senate for the fifth term by his constituents in Yobe North. Receiving a well customised Congratulatory card presented by the Senate Press Corps, the Senate President said the people of Yobe North should take credit for the election victory. Lawan said: “You will recall that when the crisis about who will run for the Senate seat for Yobe North started, the matter…
By Abimbola Ogunnaike The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Saturday, 25 February, 2023, National Assembly elections in Abia South Senatorial District inconclusive. The Returning Officer for Abia South National Assembly Elections, Prof. Georgina Ugwuanyi, announced this on Tuesday, 28 February, 2023, while addressing the party agents at the collation centre in Aba. Ugwuanyi said that there was a substantial number of polling units, totalling 108 which had issues requiring a rescheduled election. She, however, announced the available result of the elections without declaring the winners. According to her, the results of the elections showed that Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe…
By Abimbola Ogunnaike The race for the presidential seat in Rivers State is a strong battle of who takes the victory with the Labour Party (LP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) going neck and neck. So far, results from 21 local government areas have been collated and they indicated Obi in a slight lead. Sum total of the results collated so far, shows that Tinubu has won more Local Government Areas but Obi has more votes polled. While the APC Candidate has polled 148,979 votes, the LP Candidate polled 169,414 votes. At the moment results are being expected from two…
By Abimbola Ogunnaike The Senator representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District, Opeyemi Bamidele, has urged Nigerians to ignore what he described as the ill-motivated advice by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the ongoing 2023 general elections. The Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Legal Matters and Human Rights made the call in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, 28 February, 2023, and obtained by thegazellenews.com The former president had, on Monday, 27 February, 2023, in a letter to the chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, called for the halting of the collation of the results of the…
By Abimbola Ogunnaike The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has said the call for his resignation by the Labour Party (LP) and the People’s Democratic Democratic Party (PDP) is misplaced. Recall that some parties said they had lost confidence in the ongoing election process over the non-use of electronic transmission of results as stipulated by the Electoral Act. At a briefing in Abuja, the opposition parties alleged that Saturday, 25 February, 2023 elections had been manipulated. But responding through Rotimi Oyekanmi, his Chief Press Secretary, the INEC Chairman, said contrary to the insinuation by both parties, results…
By Abimbola Ogunnaike The Collation Officer of the Presidential Election in Rivers State, Professor Teddy Charles Adias, has suspended the exercise over what he described as threat to his life. Before the suspension, the results of 21 out of the 23 Local Government Areas of the State had been collated. Only results from Obio Akpor and Degema LGAs were being awaited, which were billed to be collated this morning. Adias, who is the Vice Chancellor of Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State, had earlier fixed Tuesday, 28 February, 2023, for collation of results in the outstanding LGAs. But on Tuesday morning,…
By Abimbola Ogunnaike Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has urged the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to accept defeat amid the ongoing collation of Saturday, 25 February, 2023, presidential election. While appealing to Atiku to exhibit maturity in accepting defeat, Fayose, who belongs to the same party as the Presidential Candidate, advised that he should take a break and retire to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The Ekiti ex-Governor disclosed this in a tweet he posted on his verified Twitter handle on Monday evening, 27 February, 2023. “Our candidate, H.E. Atiku Abubakar…
The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Area Unit has faulted former President Olusegun Obasanjo for calling for the suspension of the ongoing presidential election process. MSSNLagos Amir (President), Miftahudeen Thanni, in a statement on Tuesday, 28 February, 2023, said Obasanjo’s letter to President Muhammadu Buhari was unnecessary and biased. Obasanjo had in a letter on Monday, 27 February, 2023, called for the cancellation of the election over the malfunctioning of the BVAS machine. But Thanni expressed shock that a former president would be suggesting actions capable of truncating Nigeria’s democracy. Thanni said, “Can other elders admonish former President…