Hello Nigeria, welcome to Naija News’ roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Wednesday 27th April 2022
A former Imo state governor and presidential candidate, Senator Rochas Okorocha, said no one in the All Progressives Congress (APC) knows President Muhammadu Buhari’s preferred candidate.
Okorocha made this known on Tuesday while speaking on a Channel Television show, Politics Today.
The presidential aspirant revealed that President Buhari is unpredictable and has not endorsed anyone for the number one position in the country.
The lawmaker representing Imo West in the National Assembly added that Buhari has yet to reveal his preferred candidate or endorse any aspirant.
The Department of State Services has issued a new alert on the plans of certain terrorist and criminal groups to bomb certain targets in the country.
The DSS, in a statement released Tuesday by its spokesman, Dr. Peter Afunanya, said the criminals had formed alliances among themselves and planned to attack some soft and hard targets including the country’s infrastructure.
He revealed that some targeted locations include public places like worship and relaxation centers where there are usually a lot of people.
The secret police, however, stressed that while measures have been taken to prevent any attack, there is a need to inform members of the public and those who visit/own these places to be more security conscious.
The DSS said it is working with other security agencies to keep the country safe, especially during the upcoming holidays and festive season.
Former Senate Speaker and 2023 presidential candidate, Bukola Saraki says it is the turn of the North-Central region to produce Nigeria’s next president.
He said the region had suffered, sacrificed and endured a lot for the country and deserved a chance at the presidency.
Naija News reports that Saraki made the submission on Tuesday in Jos, the capital of Plateau State, while addressing members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
According to him, the north-central region had in the past struggled and made sacrifices for other regions to come to power, but now it is the region’s turn to take power.
His stance comes amid calls for the rotation and zoning of power and the need to hand the 2023 presidency to the south.
Nigerian army troops belonging to the 34th Artillery Brigade killed two fighters from the Eastern Security Network (ESN) which is the militant wing of the outlawed Indigenous Peipks Of Biafra (IPOB).
According to a statement made available to Naija News on Tuesday by the Nigerian Army Spokesman, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, ESN fighters were killed in Imo State on Monday during a fierce firefight with the soldiers.
The shooting took place along the Orlu-Orsu road.
The statement added that apart from the two people killed, four other fighters were also arrested while items such as weapons, phones, cash and others were recovered.
According to Onyema, it was the ESN gunmen who first opened fire on the troops conducting a routine patrol around the general area of the Aluminum Company and All Saints Church in the state of ‘Imo.
They fell, however, under the superior firepower of the valiant troops.
Nigeria’s vice president and 2023 presidential candidate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has vowed to bring peace and development to the country if he ends up becoming the next president.
Naija News reports that Osinbajo made the pledge on Tuesday during his consultation visit to Ogun State where he was received by Governor Dapo Abiodun.
According to him, he is in the race to serve the people of Nigeria and will waste no time in delivering on all his promises if he becomes president in 2023.
The vice president promised to put his rich experience to good use and tackle all the challenges facing the country.
Addressing members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State, Osinbajo said the visit was not for campaign purposes but to inform them of his decision to run for president and to seek their support.
Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State met his Ondo State counterpart, Rotimi Akeredolu on Tuesday on his 2023 presidential ambition.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Fayemi said he had come to seek Akeredolu’s advice before joining the presidential race.
Fayemi said he had the experience to tackle the enormity and complexity of the challenges in the country and provide a fresh perspective on how to move the country forward.
The governor added that he always consults with party stakeholders and associates before announcing his 2023 presidential bid.
The chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, however, said he has yet to decide whether or not to join the presidential race.
President Muhammadu Buhari met with Sokoto State Governor and presidential candidate Aminu Tambuwal behind closed doors at the presidential villa in Abuja on Tuesday.
Naija News has learned that the Governor arrived at the State House around 11:15 a.m. to brief the President on his presidential ambition under the PDP platform.
The development comes days after Ango Abdullahi of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) chose former Senate Speaker Bukola Saraki and Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State as the Northern Consensus Candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). ).
The president of the code of conduct tribunal, Danladi Yakubu Umar, has been ordered by the Federal High Court in Abuja to appear before the senate for alleged misconduct.
It comes after the court dismissed Umar’s lawsuit seeking to block the Senate from questioning him.
The court, in its ruling on Tuesday, noted that the CCT chairman is accountable to the Senate for moral standards.
Judge Inyang Eden Ekwo ordered Umar to appear before the Senate and answer questions about a public petition launched against him by an aggrieved citizen.
According to Judge Ekwo, the CCT Chairman’s case seeking to stop the Senate investigation was unfounded and was dismissed.
Human rights activist and presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore has criticized Afenifere leader Pa Ayo Adebanjo for his support for the South East presidency.
The Sahara Reporters editor also dismissed Adebanjo’s call for presidential aspirants from the South West and South South to set aside their presidential ambitions.
Recall that the leader Afenifere had declared that it is the turn of the South East to produce the next Nigerian president, in a spirit of fairness and justice.
Speaking at the Greater Nigeria Conference (GNC) in Abuja on Monday, Adebanjo urged politicians from the South who are not from the South East to also put aside their presidential aspirations.
In an interview with Arise News on Tuesday, Sowore said the call for the South East presidency is an attempt to divide Nigerians along ethnic lines, adding that only Nigerians should determine who will lead them in 2023.
The presidential aspirant claimed that some politicians’ call for political parties to zone their presidential tickets to the South is undemocratic and should not be encouraged.
A former governor of Abia State and presidential candidate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, has chastised presidential candidates from the South West and South South regions for joining the 2023 presidential race.
Naija News reports that some of the South West and South South presidential aspirants include Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, APC National Leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi.
In a statement he personally signed on Tuesday, the Senate leader claimed that presidential candidates from the Southwest and South-South had no respect or concern for the Southeast region.
The former governor urged presidential candidates to drop their presidential ambitions and back the Southeast for the presidency.
He also sounded the alarm over the amount of money spent by aspirants in the two regions, saying money alone cannot buy the presidency.
Kalu, however, asked the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to zone their presidential tickets to the Southeast.