Nigeria Breaking News
Nigeria’s Tinubu defends win in disputed presidential vote
Nigeria’s new president-elect, Bola Tinubu, defended the election he just won as credible on Wednesday but Peter Obi, one of his main opponents, planned to challenge the result in court, according to Obi’s running mate.
The main opposition parties have described the outcome of Saturday’s election as fraudulent after new technology that the electoral commission had promised would make the process more transparent instead malfunctioned, eroding trust.
Voter turnout was also low, even by Nigerian standards. With total votes cast at just under 25 million, out of 87 million people with voter identity cards and eligible to vote, turnout was only 29%. The 2019 election saw a 35% turnout.
“I am very happy I have been elected the president of the federal republic of Nigeria,” Tinubu, 70, who was the ruling party’s candidate, said to cheers in the federal capital Abuja. “This is a serious mandate. I hereby accept it.”
A former governor of Lagos and a veteran power broker at the heart of Nigeria’s political class, Tinubu will take the helm of Africa’s most populous country, the biggest economy and top oil producer as it struggles with overlapping crises.
Those include Islamist insurgencies in the northeast, an epidemic of kidnappings for ransom and conflicts between herders and farmers, as well as shortages of cash and fuel, industrial-scale oil theft, high inflation and deep-rooted poverty.
But for now, the focus is on the election itself, in which Tinubu won 37% of the vote, or 8.79 million votes, according to official results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Nigeria has a population of over 200 million.
“I commend INEC for running a credible election no matter what anybody says,” said Tinubu. “The lapses that were reported, they were relatively few in number and were immaterial to affect the final outcome of the election.”
But Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, Obi’s running mate, said a legal challenge was already being mounted. “We will go to court within the limit of the time. The legal people are putting the papers together,” he said, calling on supporters to remain peaceful.
Nigeria has a long history of political violence, but the atmosphere was calm in the main cities on Wednesday, with many people appearing deflated. In the eyes of God, the man (Tinubu) is not the winner,” trader Mercy Efong said in Awka, in Obi’s home state of Anambra.
Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, a group that monitored the election, said the outcome was not credible because of what it described as severe logistical failures, a lack of transparency, disruption of voting and violent incidents.
“This is all the more disappointing since the elections were held in an atmosphere in which the people showed remarkable commitment to democracy, eagerly engaging in the electoral process and waiting patiently to vote in very difficult circumstances,” the group said in a statement. Some voters were unable to cast their ballots due to malfunctioning voter card reading machines.
INEC said the main opposition challenger, former vice president and political veteran Atiku Abubakar, won 29%, or 6.98 million votes, while outsider Obi won 25% or 6.1 million votes.
To win, a candidate must get more votes than the others and at least 25% of the ballot in at least two–thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states. Tinubu cleared both hurdles.
Source: SABC
Nigerian singer, Crown Uzama, popularly known as Shallipopi, has announced that he is currently on “break” from smoking. The ‘Pluto Presido’ crooner announced this while sharing a video from his vocation via Snapchat recently. He advised his fellow smokers to abstain from the habit sometimes.
He said, “No be everytime you go dey smoke igbo, sometimes take a break. I am on break now. I am feeling good. Nigerian celebrities, including Tonto Dikeh, Don Jazzy, Terry G, Faze, Dr Sid and Kizz Daniel have announced quitting smoking in the past.
However, some of them later made a U-turn, with Terry G and Kizz Daniel confirming on their respective social media pages that they have returned to the habit.
Source: Dailypost
In other news – My man pays me allowance – Mercy Eke
Reality TV star Mercy Eke has revealed that she gets paid for being in a relationship. Speaking in a recent episode of the ‘Love Is A Game’, she said: “My guy [partner] pays me an allowance.
But it’s not that I mandated him to do that. I have about six domestic workers. So the allowance is just to assist me to pay my staff. Read more
Singer, Ayodeji Balogun, AKA Wizkid’s first baby mama, Shola Ogudu has revealed that she didn’t know she was pregnant until the pregnancy was five months.
Shola made this known during an interview with former BBNaija housemate, Maria Chike’s podcast, “Mum next door.
According to the mother of one, her parents were concerned about her studies because she was in her final year in the university.
She said, “I had my baby pretty early, I was in a university, my final year. I was pregnant for four months to be honest.
“I didn’t know I was pregnant until I was 5 months gone, my parents concern was I had to finish university and I did with good grades
Source: Dailypsor
In other news – Why I fell in love with Adekunle Gold – Simi speaks out
Nigerian singer Simisola Kosoko, popularly known as Simi, has revealed why she fell in love with her husband, singer Adekunle Gold.
The mother of one revealed that she fell in love with her husband because of his graphic designing and photoshopping skills. Read more
The convener of Easyread Legal’s Mentorship Programme, Caleb Oboagwina, has called on members of the Nigerian public to report any lawyer found engaging in corrupt practices for disciplinary action. Oboagwina made this call while speaking to newsmen at the 2nd Externs General Conference and 10th Year Anniversary of the programme on Saturday in Abuja.
Decrying reports of corruption in the legal profession, Oboagwina said corrupt lawyers are sanctioned by the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee.
If you find anyone wanting, don’t be silent. Report such a person immediately for disciplinary action against him or her to serve as a deterrent to others nursing the same evil and unethical ideas.
“Don’t be afraid. Report them no matter their reputation in the profession,” he said. He tasked aspiring lawyers on hardwork and dedication to excel in the profession whenever they are eventually called to the Nigerian Bar, urging young ones to see the profession as something that would redeem the society.
“If we have lawyers who would stand up for their rights, especially when they go up in the judiciary, and shun corruption, the society would be a better place.” Also speaking, the 2nd Vice President of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Clement Chukwuemeka, charged lawyers to speak to power and hold the government accountable when it fails in its responsibility of providing social amenities or infrastructural facilities to the masses.
According to him, the responsibility of lawyers is not to make money but to provide justice where the need arises, especially those who do not have anyone to speak for them.
“Judges grant bail to the high and mighty in corrupt cases after which such cases may be swept under the carpet but the poor are being sent to jail for minor cases because they have no one to speak for them,” he added. Easyread Legal’s Mentorship Programme is a platform that renders assistance to students of the Nigerian Law School engaging in Bar Part ll programme.
Source: Dailypost
In other news – Residents seek quick intervention as bridge linking Adamawa with Borno collapses
Residents of Madagali, a major town in the northern part of Adamawa State which shares borders with Goza in Borno State, have appealed for the quick response of federal authorities after a major bridge in the town collapsed.
The Madagali Bridge collapsed completely in the night of Thursday, August 15, after a heavy rain that caused an overflow of the Madagali River over which the bridge was built. Read more
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