Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Sunday, 5th February, 2023

Good morning Nigeria, welcome to the Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Sunday, 5th February 2023.

Jaafar Jaafar Reveals Names Of ‘Cabals’ Working Against Tinubu

The publisher of Daily Nigerian, Jaafar Jaafar has revealed the names of some people allegedly believed to be the elements working against the presidential ambition of the flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu.

Recall that the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, in an interview on Channels TV, had alleged that some elements in the Aso Villa are working against Tinubu.

He further stated that the elements don’t want Tinubu to win the 2023 presidential election.

Jaafar, while reacting to El-Rufai’s claim in a series of posts on Twitter, said Mamman Daura is not part of the elements working against Tinubu.

The publisher listed some names, claiming that they are working for the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar.

He wrote, “I’ve written a lot about Mamman Daura’s influence, but to my surprise, he’s not part of the “Villa elements” against Tinubu presidency. Mallam Mamman, who is currently convalescing in London, now stays longer in the UK than in Nigeria.

“In fact when Osinbajo visited Mallam Mamman at his Dennis Osadebay Street residence in Abuja in February 2022 to seek support for his presidential ambition, the old man clearly reminded the VP about an unwritten agreement to support Tinubu after Buhari’s tenure.”

Lai Mohammed Knows Aso Villa Cabal Working Against APC And Tinubu – El-Rufai

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna has revealed that the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, knows those he is referring to as ‘Aso Villa elements’ working against the presidential ambition of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Recall that the Kaduna State governor had on Wednesday accused some unnamed persons in the presidential Villa of working towards the failure of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming election.

Responding to El-Rufai’s assertion, Lai Mohammed, while addressing the State House Correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting last Wednesday, noted that the Presidency is unaware of those in its fold working against the APC. He stated that President Muhammadu Buhari is solidly behind Tinubu.

But the governor, in an interview with Arise TV, insisted that the Information Minister knows the individual elements in the Villa that are working against the ruling party.

Ikpeazu’s Former Chief Of Staff Succeeds Ikonne As Abia PDP Governorship Candidate

The Abia State chapter of te Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has elected Chief Okey Ahiwe as the new governorship candidate for the party in the state on Saturday.

Naija News reports that the immediate past Chief of Staff to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia emerged winner of the fresh primary election conducted to replace late Prof. Uche Ikonne.

It was gathered that out of the four aspirants that contested, Ahiwe emerged winner with 469 votes, out of 516 total votes cast, while Ude Oko Chukwu got 12 votes, Don Lulu also got 12 Votes, and Samson Orji polled 11 votes.

The Chairman of the PDP Primary Election Committee, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, announced the results as follows: Total vote cast 516, Chief Okey Ahiwe 469, Rt Hon Ude, Oko Chukwu 12 Votes, Don Lulu 12 Votes, Samson Orji 11.

Naija News recalls that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had directed the PDP in the state to conduct a fresh primary election to replace Ikonne who died last month.

The commission directed that the election should be held within 14 days of Ikonni’s demise.

This platform reported last Sunday that the Abia State chapter of the PDP caucus held a meeting on and decided that Ikonne’s replacement would come from the Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area where the late Ikonne hailed from.

Video: What Buhari Said About Tinubu In Nasarawa

President Muhammadu Buhari has endorsed the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu to succeed him in office.

The President while speaking on Saturday in Nasarawa State at the APC presidential campaign rally said if elected as the next president in 2023, Tinubu will not fail Nigerians.

Buhari added that he trusts the dedication and service of the former Lagos State Governor.

Addressing the crowd of supporters at the rally, Buhari said: “We are all voting for Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the next President; he is a committed Nigerian, and he will not fail you.”

“Asiwaju, you’re going to win through and through, you’re the next President of Nigeria. I trust in your dedication and service….”

I Will Campaign For Tinubu

Buhari in his speech also vowed to continue to campaign for Tinubu.

Northern Group Tackles Atiku Over Comment On New Naira Notes

The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) on Saturday came hard on the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, over his comment urging the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) not to grant further extension of its Naira swap policy deadline beyond the 10 days announced by the bank.

Naija News reports that the CBN had extended the deadline for the swap of old naira notes to February 10, to enable Nigeria carrying out the exchange.

The CBN initially fixed January 31 as the deadline but many Nigerians have not been able to get the new N200, N500, and N1000 notes, prompting a scarcity in the country.

Atiku, who had initially called for the deadline extension, recently urged President Muhammadu Buhari and the CBN not to extend it any further, as this may defeat the purpose of the redesigned naira note.

In a press statement personally signed and released by National President of the AYCF, Yerima Shettima declared that Atiku was on his own for recently opposing the opinions of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, and the National Assembly on the policy.

Your Comment On Northern Elders Irresponsible – Bafarawa Slams El-Rufai

A former Sokoto State Governor, Attahiru Bafarawa, has slammed Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State for saying that there are no elders left in North.

The chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stated this on Saturday while reacting to the Kaduna governor’s comment in his interview with the BBC.

El-Rufai had said: “On the issue of elders; there is nothing like elders, I am also an elder, I will be 63 years this 2023, so who are the elders in the North? We the Northern governors are the elders and we are the leaders of the North. Age does not indicate being responsible.”

Commenting on the statement, Bafarawa said El-Rufai’s comment was irresponsible, disrespectful, and an affront to the Northern elders.

The former governor asserted that it was unpleasant for El-Rufai to state that the governors are the elders and leaders of the Northern region.

Don’t Make It Look Like The Law Is Targetting Only You – Benue Govt Fires Fulani

The Benue State Government has said the anti-open grazing law in the state is targeted at everyone and not just the Fulani ethnic group.

The spokesperson to Governor Samuel Ortom, Terver Akase, said the State’s Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law affects everyone and not just one tribe.

Recall that Ortom had accused the Fulani of trying to assassinate him since the enactment of the law in 2017.

The Governor also stated that 52 persons of Fulani extraction, led by the former Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi, in a desperate attempt to set him up for hatred, slander, and attacks, accused him of carrying out genocide against some pastoralists at Akwanaja in Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State via a bomb attack.

Ortom accused Sanusi of making a video in Hausa, calling on all Fulani to consider him their enemy over the alleged attack.

Speaking to Daily Post, Akase said those arrested for flouting the open grazing law are not only Fulanis.

He said, ”The law is not targeting any ethnic group. Those who have been arrested are not only Fulanis. The law is not only about cows. It is about pigs, goats and all other domestic animals that are capable of moving from their homes to destroy other people’s crops. Domestic animals are supposed to be kept in ranches, that is what the law is about.

”It is a law on livestock and crop farming because it protects livestock and crop farming. This was done so that those who have livestock will keep their animals in ranches and those who have crop farms, the crop will be on farms and there will be peace for everybody.’

Buhari Not In Charge Of His Govt – Babachir Lawal Says Peter Obi Is The Light

A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, has said President Muhammadu Buhari is no longer in charge of his government.

Speaking on Channels Television’s “The Verdict 2023”, on Friday night, Lawal said governance has been taken from Buhari’s hand.

While stating that every government has its inner caucus, the former SGF noted that those in the present regime who had the ears of the President refused to carry out the expectations of the President or the public.

According to him, Buhari before his election in 2015 had shown a remarkable sense of leadership, while he previously held positions as governor of Borno State, Minister of Petroleum, and military Head of State.

Babachir Lawal said: “Things are out of his hands, there’s no running away from that fact. There are people that do not take the orders they are given. As soon as they leave where the order is given, they go and do different things. There is nothing like cabal. There is no government that does not have an inner caucus. There’s no government.

“There are people who have the ears of the President, to whom the President by functionality, their functions in government, ought to do things, but they are not doing what the President tells them to do, or what the President expects them to do, or what society itself expects them to do.

“I can tell you this, I know President Buhari very well, even long before he became President, and most Nigerians also knew him. And the expectation was that based on his antecedents as former governor of Borno State, former Minister of Petroleum, and then President, he had shown a remarkable sense of ability to rule.”

You Will Be Shocked, Peter Obi Is Now A Major Candidate In Kaduna, Benue, Taraba, Others – Babachir Lawal Fires El-Rufai

A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, has stated that the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, would get 50 percent of the vote cast in the North.

The former SGF was reacting to comments made by Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, who had downplayed Obi’s chances in the upcoming presidential election.

Speaking on Friday during an interview with Channels Television, Lawal said the LP candidate is gaining massive support in unexpected northern areas, stressing that Obi’s growing popularity will shock critics.

According to the former chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peter Obi has run the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) out of Adamawa, Taraba, Plateau, Benue, and Kaduna states.

He said: “On the side of the Labour Party, what has changed is that areas where we had not expected the Labour Party to do well; they are galloping through.

“The momentum is so much that it is difficult to curtail.

“When the 2023 election season commenced, Peter Obi was not on the card during the computations as to what will happen, and the expectation was that the race was a straight one between APC and PDP.’

2023: ‘A United Nigeria Is The Ultimate’ – PDP Replies Edwin Clark

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has replied to the prominent Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, over his comment about the party’s vice presidential candidate, Ifeanyi Okowa.

The PDP said the elder stateman should leave political sentiments behind and think about a united Nigeria after the elections.

A spokesman of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Charles Aniagwu, gave the submission at a press conference on Friday in Asaba.

According to him, the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and his running mate were prepared to keep to the terms of the peace accord it signed in the presence of prominent Nigerians, principally the former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar and the very revered Bishop of the Catholic Church, Hassan Kukah among other members of the National Peace Accord Committee.

Aniagwu’s reaction follows a call for Okowa to step down as Atiku’s running mate by Clark

Naija News reports that Clark tagged Okowa a betrayer, saying God would not answer his prayers as far as the elections are concerned.

Clark, at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, asked Okowa to apologize to the people, his colleagues and Southern Nigeria.

That’s the top Nigerian newspaper headlines for today. Read more Nigerian news on Naija News. See you again tomorrow.