Good morning! Here’s today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers
1. The Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, (SAN) has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) to allow the All Progressives Congress (APC) Zamfara, field candidates for the general elections. Malami, who doubles as the Minister of Justice, made the call in a letter to INEC dated Feb. 13, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). The minister said that INEC could not foreclose the right of a political party to participate in elections without recourse to the Act.
2. The national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has denied any form of allegiance with the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. He was reacting to a picture of him and some PDP members being circulated online. Tinubu in a statement by his Spokesperson, Tunde Rahman, said the picture was only taken when PDP women led by former spokesperson of the Department of State Services, DSS cornered the former Lagos governor at the Airport and begged him for a selfie which is now being used for blackmail by the opposition party.
3. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the “scanty attendance” at President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign mega rally in Abuja on Wednesday as a parody and a further indication to Mr. President and his All Progressives Congress (APC) that Nigerians have rejected them ahead of Saturday’s Presidential election. Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP National Publicity Secretary, in a statement on Wednesday, said the development has further revealed that the APC only fabricated figures in their claims that 14.8 members of the APC voted for him at the flawed convention.
4. Foremost lawyer and Legal Luminary, Mike Ozekhome has reacted to the bench warrant issued by the the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, against the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Walter Onnoghen. Reacting, Ozekhome in a statement on Wednesday listed nine reasons the bench warrant issued against suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen by the Code of Conduct Tribunal is a ‘Trivialization of the judicial process’.
5. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that the electorate can use any finger to cast their votes in the forthcoming general elections. The commission made the clarification on its official Twitter page @inecnigeria on Wednesday. It said that the ballot paper was not finger sensitive, but advised the electorate not to allow the indelible ink on their fingers cross into another box.
6. Prof. Monday Igbafen, the Chairman of Ambrose Alli University (AAU) chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has been suspended by university authorities over allegations of sexual assault. Igbafen, an Associate Professor of the Department of Philosophy, was suspended after his appearance before a disciplinary committee on allegations of sexual misconduct.
This was made public in a statement signed by Edward Aihevba, the university’s spokesman, on Wednesday in Benin, Edo State capital.
7. President Muhammadu Buhari has insisted that those involved in the alleged waste of over 16 billion dollars on power sector without any meaningful results under the previous administrations would be investigated and anyone found wanting would be prosecuted. Buhari spoke at the All Progressives Congress (APC) rally in Abuja.
8. Human right lawyer, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, has reacted to the bench warrant issued by the the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, against the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Walter Onnoghen, Reacting in a terse statement, Agbakoba stated that the CCT went too far by issuing the arrest warrant, despite that its jurisdiction to try the case has been challenged by the NJC. He reminded the CCT that there is now before the National Judicial Council, a petition against Justice Walter Onnogen on exactly the same charges at the CCT.
9. Unknown gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram militants, reportedly opened fire on the convoy of Borno state Governor, Kashim Shettima, killing at least three people. Shettima was on his way to a rally ahead of the presidential election. The gunmen reportedly opened fire at the motorcade transporting the Governor on Tuesday, on his way from the state capital Maiduguri, to the market town of Gamboru for a rally.
10. Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ilorin Zonal Office have arrested eight suspected internet fraudsters, following a tip-off and surveillance carried out around Irewolede, Ilorin, Kwara State.
The suspects, who were rounded up at about include, Chimezie Paul, 19; Oluwakayode Adebayo, 25; Mustapha Akeem, 19; Ezedigboo Paschal, 19; Mustapha Suleiman, 21; Mohammed Umar Faruk, 25; Abolarin Samuel Sunday, 23, and Anolarin Ridwan Gbolahan, 25.
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