Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Tuesday, 28th February, 2023

Good morning Nigeria, welcome to Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Tuesday, 28th February 2023

1. ‘Don’t Set Nigeria On Fire If Your Hands Are Clean’ – Obasanjo Breaks Silence On Presidential Election, Roasts INEC

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has appealed for caution as the results of last Saturday’s presidential election emerge.

In a statement on Monday that he personally signed and obtained by Naija News, Obasanjo stated that it is no secret that INEC officials, at operational level, have been allegedly compromised.

His statement partly reads: “I am constrained to speak at this point.

“I crave the indulgence of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency General Muhammadu Buhari, to make this statement because I have had opportunity to keep him aware of what I know is happening and the danger looming ahead.

On many occasions in the past, I have not hesitated to point out lacuna in the action of the President and his government. But as far as the election issues are concerned, the President has proved beyond reasonable doubt that he will want to leave a legacy of free, fair, transparent and credible elections.”

2. PDP, LP And Several Others Pull Out Of Presidential Collation, Accuse INEC Of Compromise

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been accused of compromising the 2023 presidential election held on the 25th of February, 2023.

This is coming after some political parties challenged INEC for not uploading results from polling units across the country before the national collation started in Abuja.

The agent of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dino Melaye and former governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha had challenged the electoral body to attend to their demand.

However, hours after resuming collation and listening to the opinions of party agents, INEC ignored their demands and continued with the collation.

The development saw agents of the PDP, Labour Party (LP) and several others pull out of the presidential collation.

3. Peter Obi Defeats Tinubu In Lagos State

The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has defeated the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, in his home state, Lagos.

Naija News reports that Tinubu and Peter Obi have been in a tight competition regarding the numbers of voters in Lagos State.

Although Tinubu won more local government areas, the former governor of Anambra State defeated him with the majority of the votes cast.

All the results of the 20 local governments have been declared with Tinubu winning in 11 while Peter Obi won in nine local governments.

With the results declared, Obi polled 582,664 while Tinubu scored 541,850.

4. #NigeriaDecides2023: INEC Speaks On Alleged Over-Voting In Ekiti

The Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) has debunked the allegations of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on over-voting in Saturday’s presidential election in Ekiti State.

Naija News earlier reported that PDP, LP, and two other political parties sought the cancellation of the Presidential Election results from Ekiti State.

They claimed that figures declared from the result do not tally with the total number of votes cast in the election as declared by the state Returning Officer.

The other two parties are Action Alliance and the Africa Democratic Party.

PDP Agent at the collation centre, Dino Melaye said going by the party’s calculations of what was presented, there is a perception of over-voting as the figures were different from what was presented.

According to him, “Yesterday, we received results from Ekiti and we worked on it. The figure presented indicates that there were 301,558 accredited voters and out of that, the APC got 201, 494, and the PDP got 89,554, leaving a balance of about 10,510. We were told that the Labour Party got 11, 397.

Speaking during the ongoing presentation of collated results of the presidential election in Abuja, the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, dismissed PDP’s claims.

5. Labour Party Rejects 2023 Presidential Election Results

The Labour Party (LP) has rejected the ongoing collation and announcement of the 2023 presidential election results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in Abuja.

Naija News reports that the Director General of the LP Presidential Campaign Council, Akin Osuntokun, made this known in a statement on Monday.

Osuntokun called on INEC to suspend the further announcement of the results due to non-compliance with provisions of the electoral guidelines and the obvious manipulations of the election results.

He also urged the electoral body to completely cancel the entire election and make plans for another election with strict compliance with the stipulated laws and guidelines.

Osuntokun also appreciated Nigerians for their support for the party’s candidates and assured them all that their mandate shall be recovered.

6. Appeal Court Judge Slumps, Dies

A Court of Appeal Judge, in Akure, Ondo state, Justice Lokulo-Sodipe has reportedly passed away.

Lokulo-Sodipe, aged 67, was said to have slumped in his office while preparing to attend a Court session on Monday, with all attempts to revive the Judge proving abortive, as he died on his way to the hospital.

Confirming the unfortunate incident, the immediate past Chairman of the Akure branch of the Nigeria Bar Association, (NBA) Rotimi Olorunfemi said, “Just confirmed it ( the judge’s death ) is true. He collapsed in the office at Court of Appeal, Akure this ( Monday) morning. He was rushed to the hospital but confirmed DOA (Death on Arrival)”

Speaking on the sudden death of the Appeal court judge, the Chairman NBA Akure, Banjo Ayenakin, described the death of Lokulo-Sodipe, as a rude shock.

7. #NigeriaDecides2023: Bode George Hails Buhari And Blast INEC

Former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Deputy National Chairman Bode George has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for modernizing Nigeria’s electoral system but lambasted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for not taking effective advantage of the available technology.

Bode George who spoke with reporters in Lagos on Monday, two days after the Saturday presidential and National Assembly elections urged the electoral body to transmit the election result electronically as initially anticipated.

According to the PDP chieftain, INEC is a disappointment for returning to the manual method of collating the election results.

8. I Am A Party Agent, The Right Thing Must Be Done – Dino Fumes, Challenges INEC Chairman

The Collation Agent of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dino Melaye has on Monday expressed his displeasure over the collation and result announcement by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Abuja.

The PDP stalwart while arguing over the collation of the result challenged the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to bundle him out of the venue.

Dino who expressed the results presented by various State Collation Officers, told Yakubu that the right thing must be done.

Melaye added that he was not destructive, but wants the results presented at the polling units displayed on the INEC website for comparison with the ones presented by the state’s collation officers.

9. Supreme Court Affirms Chijioke Edeoga As Enugu Labour Party Guber Candidate

A Supreme Court judgement on Monday affirmed the candidacy of Chijioke Edeoga as the Labour Party governorship candidate for Enugu State.

Naija News reports that the apex court declared Edeoga as the authentic governorship candidate of the party in the state.

Edeoga’s candidature was challenged by Everestus Nnaji.

The judgement follows an earlier verdict from a Federal High Court in Abuja ordering a fresh primary election in the party.

But Edeoga went further to challenge the High Court’s judgment at the Appeal Court and won.

However, Nnaji proceeded to the Supreme Court to reverse the Appellate Court’s judgement, but it didn’t go in his favour.

10. Police Send Message To Tinubu, Atiku, Others Over Ongoing Election

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has asked presidential candidates to caution their party supporters against putting put pressure on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In a statement on Monday by its Spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the Force asked the flagbearers to tell their supporters to allow the electoral body to deliver on its constitutional duty.

Adejobi also asked presidential candidates to warn party supporters against making provocative comments capable of unnecessarily creating undue excitement and heating up the polity.

The Force spokesman said citizens have the responsibility to ensure the country is protected against violence, adding that Nigerians must curb actions capable of triggering violence during the collation of election results.

Adejobi called on Nigerians to maintain peace and also urged INEC to ensure quick collation of the results following the high expectations for the election.

Those are the top Nigerian newspaper headlines for today. Read more Nigerian news on Naija News. See you again tomorrow.