The Patriots in Defense of Democracy, a political pressure group, has described as condemnable and unpatriotic calls by some persons for the establishment of an Interim National Government against a democratically elected one.

Donald Ayibiowo, the Co-Convener of the group, said this on Tuesday in Abuja while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at a solidarity rally organised by them.

According to him, the rally is to redirect ongoing narratives about the Feb. 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections, and the emergence of Sen. Bola Tinubu as President-elect.

This is condemnable, unpatriotic and should be rejected by all men of goodwill, political parties have contested elections and winners have emerged.

And due process of law is being followed in resolving whatever dispute may have arisen from the election.

Ayibiowo said, It may not have been the best of elections, but it is credible and the majority of Nigerians are happy, and Section 139 of our Constitution says whoever is aggrieved should go to the court.

The staff and students of Federal University of Technology, FUTO, Owerri, on Tuesday gave Professor Nnenna Oti a hero’s welcome back to the institution.

Oti, the current Vice-chancellor of FUTO, was the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Returning Officer for Abia State governorship election.

In a video circulating online and obtained by DAILY POST, people were seen dancing and chanting songs with a banner with the inscription Welcome back Nnenna Oti, Heroine of Nigeria Democracy.

Recall that amidst the stalemate in announcing the results of the guber election in the state, Oti stood her ground, insisting that the people’s votes would count.

I shall stand squarely and unapologetically on these principles. The people’s votes and mandate shall stand.

She said, The pastor and the mother in me will not permit me to do anything that will adversely affect the future of our children.

In the results declared by the INEC, Alex Otti of the Labour Party (LP) defeated his opponents Okey Ahiwe of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Enyinnaya Nwafor of the Young Peoples Party (YPP) with 175, 467 votes to emerge the winner.

The Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, on Tuesday received a letter from Nigerian youths asking it to prevail on the federal government to nullify the February 25 presidential election.

The youth group had stormed the ECOWAS headquarters in Abuja to protest the manner in which the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, conducted the 2023 presidential poll.

The youths, who were not pleased with the outcome of the election, stormed the head office of ECOWAS to demand the cancellation of the election.

Speaking on behalf of the aggrieved youths, the convener of the Free Nigeria Movement, Moses Ogidi-Paul called on the international community, particularly ECOWAS, to prevail on the Nigerian government to annul the presidential election and set up an interim committee, pending the conduct of a fresh poll.

He said, Our country needs healing. It will be counterproductive to allow a fraudulent process to subsist as fraud will eternally birth fraud. We cannot grow our democracy on falsehood and suspicion. The holes in our national fabric must be woven shut. One way is to immediately establish a Truth and Reconciliation Committee in Lagos State and other flashpoints of voter intimidation and violence during the presidential, National Assembly, governorship and state assembly elections. This will help build trust, confidence and further ethnic cooperation among Nigerians.

As concerned citizens, we believe that our country is destined for greatness and are hopeful that in no distant time, our faith will nudge our dreams to reality. This is our prayer as we nurse the bruises of hope. For though they force us to the precipice, we will not curse our country or stand by those who curse it. We will not steal from our country whatever treasures it possesses in dignity. We will hold on to the promise of unity and faith, peace and progress.

The ECOWAS director of Administration and General Services who received the letter thanked the youths for conducting themselves peacefully and promised to forward the letter to the appropriate quarters for onward action.

Popularity, they say, is a critical success factor for a politician and her/his party to win elections. But that hasn’t been the case with most Nigerian entertainers who, despite their celebrity status, have continued to suffer embarrassing defeats at various polls across the country.

Prior to the 2023 general elections, some industry heavyweights announced their retirements and sojourn into partisan politics. Among them are Nollywood actresses Funke Akindele and Tonto Dikeh, who were the deputy governorship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Lagos and Rivers states, respectively.

Others include actor Femi Branch, who was the deputy governorship candidate of the National Rescue Movement in Ogun State; singer Olubankole Wellington, popularly known as Banky W, who ran for the Eti-Osa House of Representatives seat under the PDP, and “The Johnsons” star, Olumide Oworu who was the Labour Party candidate for the Surulere Constituency 1 seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly.

DAILY POST observed, unfortunately, that the voyages of Nigerian entertainers into the murky waters of politics haven’t been smooth sailing.

Except for veteran actor-cum-politician, Desmond Elliott, who defeated Oworu, the rest of the pack lost their bids.

Funke Akindele

Akindele was the running mate of the PDP’s gubernatorial candidate, Abdul-Azeez Adediran, aka Jandor, in the just concluded Lagos State governorship election.

Many had high hopes for her and her principal, considering her celebrity status and “street credibility”.

However, all those hopes were dashed when she and her boss finished a distant third (62,449 votes) behind the incumbent governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the APC (762,134 votes), and LP candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour (312,329 votes).

Days later, the actress deleted all campaign photos from her social media pages.

Banky W

Veteran singer/rapper and record label boss, Olubankole Wellington, better known as Banky W, made the headlines when he lost the Lagos State Eti-Osa Federal Constituency election to a less-known Attah Thaddeus of the Labour Party (LP).

The LP candidate, surprisingly, polled 24,075 votes as against 18,666 votes by Banky W, who was the PDP candidate, while the incumbent, Babjide, son of Musiliu Obanikoro, a former Minister of State for Defence and APC candidate, got 16,901 votes.

The music executive had previously lost the Eti-Osa Federal Constituency election in 2019.

His latest electoral defeat triggered some of his friends, like Nollywood actor, Deyemi Okanlawon, to challenge the victory of the “unpopular” LP candidate, Thaddeus Attah, online, which didn’t sit well with many social media users.

Tonto Dikeh

Controversial Nollywood actress and brand influencer Tonto Dikeh suffered a similar fate as her colleagues in the Rivers State governorship election.

Dikeh’s celebrity prowess failed to save her and her boss, Tonte Ibraye, governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Rivers State, from losing to Simi Fubara of the PDP.

Despite her popularity, her party performed poorly at the poll, with the APC and Labour Party doing far better than them.

Shortly after the election, she took to her Instagram page to thank her fans and well-wishers for their support despite the defeat, insisting that she cherished the experience.

Olumide Oworu

Rising actor, Olumide Oworu was not officially entered into the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal as the Labour Party candidate for the Surulere Constituency election. However, he campaigned for the position under the platform.

He claimed that INEC failed to enter his name due to some reason. Adebayo Bode was the name officially entered as the LP candidate for the election.

Notwithstanding, the LP lost to the incumbent, Desmond Elliott of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

APC polled 17,837 votes against 7,822 votes by the LP, and 1,045 votes by the PDP candidate, Thompson Sulaimon Abolaji.

Oworu and his supporters were reportedly attacked during one of their campaigns.

Femi Branch

Veteran actor and filmmaker, Femi Branch was the running mate to the Ogun State gubernatorial candidate of the National Rescue Movement, Tofunmi Ogunronbi, in the just concluded election, which the duo lost to the incumbent, Dapo Abiodun of the APC.

His celebrity status couldn’t influence the voters as his party was among the bottom losers.

APC polled 276,298 votes to emerge the winner, while the PDP candidate, Ladi Adebutu, scored 262,383 votes to come second.

Biyi Otegbeye of the ADC polled 94,754 votes to come third.

Femi Branch rejected the results, insisting that the election was flawed.

The actor wrote via Instagram, “It is the audacity for me! After buying (sharing) the voters between themselves, APC and PDP also compromised the Independent National Electoral Commission; and the small parties are suffering for it. Any candidate declared winner in Ogun State is a fraud.

“First, (there were) fake ballot papers and after protests lasting over two hours, another set (of ballot papers) was brought, and we finally voted; only for them to count only APC and PDP votes,” he added.

Honorable mentions:

Actress Carolyna Hutchings was the running mate to the African Action Congress governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State, Iboro Otu, before stepping down a day before the election.

The election was eventually won by PDP candidate, Umo Eno.

TV reality star Tuoyo Ideh was the House of Representatives candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance party (APGA) for Warri Federal Constituency of Delta State.

However, the former Big Brother Naija housemate lost the election to the incumbent, Thomas Ereyitomi, of the PDP.

Farmers in Ido-Ekiti in Ido-Osi Local Government Area (LGA) on Monday appealed to the State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, to enforce the anti-grazing law against invaders of their farms.

The Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Ido-Ekiti chapter, Mr Oluropo Dada, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ido-Ekiti.

Dada said the incessant invasion of their farms by suspected local herdsmen had become a major problem for farmers in the community.

He noted that on Wednesday, one of the big farms of a member of the association was destroyed by cows which did not spare vegetables and food crops in the farm.

The chairman appealed to Gov. Oyebanji to uphold the anti-grazing law to protect the hard work of farmers on their farms.
I want to appeal to our governor to enforce the anti-grazing law against invaders of our farms.

Currently, our farms are being encroached by cows, destroying our food crops and vegetables planted on the farm.

He said, We want the state government to assist us to secure our farms from further invasion by suspected local cattle herdsmen within and outside the community.

The chairman, however, appealed to the chairman of the Ido-Osi local government, Dr Lawrence Ogunsina, to help the farmers repair the roads leading to the farms to ease the smooth transportation of their harvested crops during the current rainy season.

He added that most of their farm produce always spoils on the farm because of the poor roads, which are not accessible by vehicles.

Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams has knocked politicians playing the ethnic card and failing to abide by the rules of the electoral process.

The founder of Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, also urged all Yorubas, elders, monarchs, socio-cultural groups, etc., to look beyond politics and strengthen the bond of unity.

A statement the Yoruba One Voice (YOV) issued on Monday said Adams addressed a virtual international conference attended by participants from six continents.

At the conference themed Decolonizing Yoruba land: Speak up, speak out, Adams stressed that the struggle for decolonization of ancestral land must be a collective effort.

The Grand Patron of the diaspora organization urged the indigenes to wake up from their slumber and take their pride of place among other races in the world.

Iba Adams maintained that the Yorubas are where they are currently because they lost touch with the core values that are key to the progress of our race.

The high chief said although the people have unique culture, tradition, language, dressing, food, among others, civilization came and slowed down the glory”

Our language, culture and tradition have gone into extinction. The religious institution has also failed to re-invent the true gospel of God.

He fumed, The political class has done everything to divide us along political lines and politicians have failed to play by the rules

On the general elections, Adams said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Prof. Mahmood Yakubu are facing global condemnation for failing to ensure smooth conduct.

The traditional leader noted that the failure of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, to transmit election results electronically betrayed the hope and trust of Nigerians.

Adams added,The electoral umpire organized the worst election in the history of Nigeria. The entire system is mired in distrust; we continue to witness untoward happenings across the country.

The embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. Iyorchia Ayu, has described his purported suspension by executive members of his Ward, Igyorov Ward of Gboko Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue state, as an exercise in futility.

Ayu, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Simon Imobo-Tswam, in Abuja, said he had not been suspended.

Ayu said his attention had been drawn to rumours that he had been suspended by the Executive Committee of his Ward.

We wish to state categorically and with all emphasis at our disposal thus, that “The PDP National Chairman, Ayu, has not been suspended by his Ward. Some members of the Exco are only being teleguided by political gamblers to cause mischief and nothing more.

For starters, Article 57(7) of the PDP Constitution as Amended in 2017, expressly prohibits any organ of the party or executive committee of the party at the Ward or State Level from taking any disciplinary measure against any member of the party’s National Executive Committee.

The purported suspension is, therefore, an exercise in futility as it derives its strength majorly from gross illiteracy, ignorance, gambling and desperation. It has only mischief, drama and propaganda value.

Ayu added that the so-called suspension letter was written by an illiterate and only given to the coerced members to sign somewhere in Makurdi.

This is why the original date is tippexed and 24 March imposed on it.

From what we know, the document itself is fraudulent as the signatures of the Ward Executives were forged or obtained under duress.

The chairman, his deputy and legal adviser didn’t sign the letter. The 14th person on the list didn’t sign too. In fact, the same applies for Nos. 5, 8 and 16.

At the time they were supposed to be in Makurdi, the others coerced, intimidated and induced members of the Exco; they were actually in their villages, going about their normal businesses.

Ayu said till now, about nine members of the executives were still being held hostage in a location in Makurdi for obvious reasons.

He added that, expectedly, their cell phones had been switched off, saying, it is instructive.

He advised the general public to ignore rumours to the heinous effect, saying, those behind the plot are only investing in expensive illusions.

Ayu was reported to have been suspended on Sunday by the ward executive for alleged anti-party activities, failure to pay his Annual Subscription Fees, and failure to vote during the just-concluded elections.

The suspension reports also alleged that: It was also discovered that most of his closest allies worked for the opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and hence, the abysmal performance of the PDP in Igyorov Ward.

The letter had said, In view of the foregoing, we hereby pass a Vote of No Confidence on Dr. Iyorchia Ayu and suspend him as a member of our party with immediate effect. The suspension takes effect from 24 March 2023

Some aggrieved women protested half naked in front of the United States Embassy in Abuja over the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.

The women, who are members of the Free Nigeria Movement, were at the US Embassy to report the alleged fraud that happened during the 2023 polls.

The protesters, who were armed with various placards, called on the US Government to place a visa ban on the instigators of violence during the poll.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC was declared winner of the February 25 presidential election by Independent National Electoral, INEC.

 

Tinubu was declared winner of the polls amid claims of electoral fraud and massive rigging at various places in the country.

His closest challengers, candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Labour Party have since petitioned the Election Tribunal to seek their separate redress.

The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has urged Igbos residing in Lagos State to protect their lives and businesses threatened by thugs led by the former Lagos State National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, chairman Musiliu Akinsanya, also known as MC Oluomo.

IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, said threatening Igbos in Lagos State was a threat to the entire Biafra.

In a statement by Powerful, IPOB lamented the silence of Yoruba leaders over the attack on Igbos and their businesses in Lagos State.

Powerful insisted that the silence of Yoruba politicians over the attack on Igbos in Lagos State has shown that the age long bitterness can’t be healed.

He insisted that the silence of Yoruba leaders was an indication that they agree with the plot to eject Igbos from Lagos State forcefully.

According to Powerful, The Indigenous People of Biafra led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu condemn the numerous abductions and attacks on Ndigbo, resident in Lagos by the notorious thugs and criminals led by MC Olomo.

In the interim, we encourage Ndigbo to form gallant groups to defend themselves from the tribal vagabonds and political thugs. Yoruba criminals and cultists recruited by the politicians

Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State on Friday described Thursday night’s rainstorm and flooding incidents in some parts of the state as unfortunate.

Reacting to the incidents, Governor Abdulrazaq sympathised with residents of Ilorin and some communities in the state.

Two people escaped death in Ilorin, the state capital, by the whiskers when a billboard and roofing sheets blown by storm fell on their Toyota Camry car.

The incident occurred around the state fire service on Unity Road at about 4pm, while they were driving in the rain.

Although they were unhurt, the incident inflicted extensive damage on their car.

A government statement in Ilorin on Friday by his spokesman, Rafiu Ajakaye, said “the Governor is sad about the havocs that the rainstorm wreaked on public and private properties, especially in Ilorin metropolis, Oke Ero, and some other areas.

The Governor is aware of and commends the ongoing efforts of relevant government agencies to evacuate the many fallen signposts and clear the highways for free movement of traffic.

The statement further said, “while the state government will collaborate with the Federal Government to continually tackle the question of flooding, the government appeals to members of the public to avoid littering the drainages or blocking free flow of water.