My election was fair, credible - Tinubu
The president-elect, Bola Tinubu, has stated that the presidential election was ‘fair and credible’ and that he will not be confined by political consideration in assembling his government.
Mr Tinubu, in a statement on Thursday, said he will go beyond forming a government of national unity, rather, he will form “a government of national competence.”
“There has been talk of a government of national unity. My aim is higher than that. I seek a government of national competence. In selecting my government, I shall not be weighed down by considerations extraneous to ability and performance,” he said.
The former Lagos State governor polled 8.7 million votes to defeat 17 other candidates in the 25 February presidential election. However, several opposition parties have opposed the outcome of the election and some have commenced the legal process to challenge the result.
The candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party have commenced the process to challenge the outcome.
Due to how divisive the 2023 electoral process has been, pundits have encouraged the president-elect to form a government of national unity in a bid to unite the country.
Mr Tinubu, in his statement, reiterated that the election was “fair and credible”, noting that other candidates are within their rights to challenge the outcome in court.
Barring no judicial intervention, Mr Tinubu is expected to be sworn in on 29 May.
Amaechi, Cole Worked Against Tinubu’s Presidential Ambition, Wike Alleges
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike on Thursday, alleged that his predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi; and the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tonye Cole worked against the ambition of their party’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.
“Rotimi Amaechi and his protégé, Tonye Cole, actively opposed the demand for power shift to the South and worked against their party’s presidential candidate in Rivers State,” Wike alleged during a state broadcast.
“When the President-Elect emerged as the winner, Tonye Cole rushed to congratulate him on his Instagram handle but deleted the post when he was criticised…”
Back in June 2022, Tinubu trounced bigwigs in the APC like Amaechi, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and the Senate President Ahmad Lawan to clinch the party’s ticket.
Wike further accused his predecessor, saying he “failed as Governor of Rivers State for eight years” and “could not attract any single development project to Rivers State as Minister for Transportation for seven years”.
He alleged that Amaechi and the APC planned to overrun and disrupt the elections in Rivers ahead of Saturday’s governorship and state assembly polls, noting that the security agencies had been notified.
Two brothers allegedly kill security guard, 12-year-old son in Enugu
The police in Enugu State, south-east Nigeria, said they have arrested two brothers for allegedly killing a security guard and his son in the state.
The incident happened on Sunday in Onuakpaka, Ndiagu-Akpugo, a community in Nkanu West Local Government Area of the state.
The police spokesperson in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.
Mr Ndukwe, a deputy superintendent of police, said the suspects – Chinedu Nnaona, 25, and Maduabuchi Nnaoma, 21 – allegedly killed the victims in a failed attempt to steal a car from the compound.
The police spokesperson said one of the victims, Christian Ngene, was the caretaker and security guard at the house which belongs to an unnamed uncle to the suspects.
Mr Ngene was killed alongside his 12-year-old son, Promise, he said.
The police said investigation revealed that the suspects conspired and left Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where they resided with their parents, and visited their uncle’s house with the sole aim of stealing and selling their uncle’s Mitsubishi Grandis vehicle parked in his compound.
Mr Ndukwe said the suspects procured knives apparently, and subsequently scaled the parameter fence of the building to gain access into the compound.
Lagos school bus tumbles, injures children
A school bus conveying children of ages one to five, summersaulted and injured the occupants on Thursday, in Lagos.
The accident occurred in Surulere area of the state.
A News Agency of Nigeria correspondent, who witnessed the accident, reports that the bus with registration number KTU-465DN hit a median barrier and pulled off a concrete holding a street light, before summersaulting.
Sympathisers rushed to the scene and took the injured children and a caregiver on board, to nearby Hospital.
The driver of the bus, who also sustained injuries, fled the scene, apparently for fear of a mob attack.
At the Hospital, doctors and other health workers quickly attended to the victims.
A doctor who was on duty, Sanusi Olatunbosun, told NAN, “Seven people were in the school bus, three had serious injuries while four had minor injuries.”
He said that all the victims were treated and placed on two-hour observation before they were discharged.
He said that the hospital was expecting the school to offset the medical bills.
“They are all conscious and discharged in good condition,” he said.
Electoral malpractices: INEC blacklists 100 ad hoc staff
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, said it has blacklisted 100 ad hoc staff involved in various malpractices during the February 25 presidential and national assembly elections in Akwa Ibom.
This was disclosed by Dr Cyril Omorogbe, INEC Resident Electoral Commission for Akwa Ibom while briefing journalists for next Saturday’s governorship and house of assembly elections in the state.
Omorogbe said the blacklisted ad hoc staff were found culpable of electoral malpractices during the Presidential and National Assembly elections in the state and will therefore not be involved in the March 18 elections.
”We blacklisted them, we will not use them during the Governorship and House of Assembly elections on Saturday,” he said.
The resident electoral commissioner said the commission had started distributing sensitive materials to Local Government Areas of the state ahead of the Saturday elections.
Omorogbe said that all arrangements had been made to ensure early arrival of materials and personnel for the polls.
”We have made adequate preparations to ensure that materials and personnel do not arrive late at polling units.
”We are aware of the complaints raised during the presidential and national assembly elections, we do not want that to repeat itself,” he said.
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