Nigeria Decides 2023: Presidential Contest Is Between Atiku, Obi – Dogora

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Rt Hon Yakubu Dogara has said evidence shows that the race for the 2023 presidency is between former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party candidate and ex-Anambra Governor Peter Obi.

Dogara took a swipe at the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying he always dances at his campaign rallies because he has nothing to say, alleging that the former Lagos governor has staggering allegations of fraud and moral corruption against him that weighs down on his integrity and capacity.

Commenting on Peter Obi, he said: “As for the Labour candidate, I don’t have much to say about him because I don’t know him and that’s what scares the daylight out of me. At the level I have operated in Nigerian politics, I am supposed to know a number of things about him but regrettably, that is not so.

On the former Kano State Governor, Musa Kwankwaso, of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Dogara said NNPP has not carried a nationwide campaign required for the presidency.

“The crucial role we can play as Christians is to examine the character of the candidates running for offices especially the highest office in the country and disallowed those of them that we know are not a reflection of our moral ethos,” he said.

 

Leaked Sex Tape: Court Awards N5million Damages Against Singer Oxlade

 Justice Olalekan Oresanya of an Ikeja High Court has awarded N5million damages against a singer Ikuforijimi Olaitan Abdulrahman, aka Oxlade over a leaked sex tape with a woman on social media app, Snapchat.

In a judgement dated 24th January 2023, and trending online, Justice Oresanya described the action of the singer, in secretly recording an explicit sex with a woman and thereafter leaking it online as “despicable, horrendous, distasteful and classless.”


The sex tape of the singer had surfaced online in February 2022, without the knowledge and consent of the woman we involved in the video.

The leaked video sparked public outrage, and forced Oxlade to tender an apology to his fans and to the woman in the video.

The woman, John Blessing had filed a suit before the court on March 15, 2022 seeking N20million damages and a declaration that the respondent (Oxlade’s) act of recording his explicit sexual acts without her knowledge and consent amounted to flagrant contravention of enabling laws and a gross violation of her fundamental rights to dignity, privacy and freedom from discrimination guaranteed under Sections 34 and 37 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended); and Articles 5 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement), Act, CAP A9, LFN, 2004.

After hearing counsel for the claimant, E. T. Idemudia and O. S. Mabekoje with U. R. Michael for the respondent, the judge had set for judgment when parties agreed to opt for amicable resolution via a consent judgement.

Delivering judgment in the matter, Justice Oresanya chastised the singer and cautioned him against such act in his relationship with the opposite sex in the future.

“The action and attitude of the Respondent (Oxlade), who is said to be a celebrity, is despicable, horrendous, distasteful and classless. The Respondent is admonished strongly to act with utmost circumspection in his relationship with fellow humans, especially the opposite sex. “what goes around comes around”. I need not say more,” the judge said.

In the course of trial, the judge berated Oxlade for treating the judicial process with disrespect and accused his lawyer of aiding him to desecrate the temple of justice.

“The attitude of the respondent towards the proceeding leaves much to be desired.

“The Respondent failed to appear in this court and the only reason given for the respondent’s absence by his former counsel was the celebrity status of the respondent which to my mind cannot be equated to that of many notable celebrity artistes in this country who have comported themselves well respectably both within and outside of this country.

“Counsel, as ministers in the temple of justice, should never encourage any party to a law suit or client in treating the temple of justice with disrespect and disdain no matter the status of the client in the society.

“Client comes and client goes, the legal profession and institution remains. It is also disturbing to note as part of the tardiness of the r espondent and his counsel that this terms of settlement was filed after the Honourable Court had concluded the hearing of the matter and on the verge of delivering its Judgment on the merit fixed for January 16, 2023.”

Justice Oresanya said the court would have awarded exemplary and aggravated damages far greater than the agreed settlement sum of N5 million against the respondent for the alleged “cruel violation of the privacy of the claimant via the online/internet publication of an explicit sex tape involving the claimant and the respondent on 9th February, 2022.”

The judge thereafter entered the Terms of Settlement dated January 11, 2023 as the judgment of the court.

By the consent judgement, Oxlade is to pay the N5million damages awarded against him to the claimant in two instalments of N2million and N3million respectively.

The court judge gave an order of perpetual injunction against the claimant from initiating any further legal process or any process in respect of the facts and matters giving rise to the suit, and from instituting or discussing the issues constituted in the claim on any platform, and before any third party.

Justice Oresanya admonished parties, their privies, assigns, agents, successors, legal counsel, and personal representatives agree to maintain confidentiality of all non-public information and materials pertaining to the suit, and the Terms of Settlement.

He ordered that failure of either party to adhere to the terms shall entitle the affected party to damages for such breach, including any and all injuries incurred as a result of such disclosure.

El-Rufai: Buhari Was Shocked When Lawan Was Named APC Anointed Candidate

 The Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has said President Muhammadu Buhari was shocked when he was told that Senate President Ahmad Lawan was the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s anointed candidate.

El-Rufai disclosed this while answering questions on a programme on TVC on Thursday.

In June 2022, before the APC presidential primary started, the National Chair of the party, Abdullahi Adamu, announced Lawan as the consensus candidate for the party.

The announcement was met with mixed reactions, including a rejection by several APC governors.

“We went to the president and said ‘Mr. President, this is what we are hearing; this is not what you’ve been telling us in the past two to three years. Is it true?’

“And the president expressed shock and said ‘I’m not part of this’.

“Right there and then, he summoned Garba Shehu to issue a statement that he hasn’t anointed anyone. And he told us very clearly ‘I have not anointed anyone’,”

Salary Arrears: Labour Unions Laud Adeleke

 Labour unions under the umbrella of the Joint Labour Movement in Osun State have commended the state governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, for approving welfare packages for workers, particularly the payment of salary arrears.

A circular dated January 31, 2023, signed by Najeem Akintola on behalf of the Head of Service, Olaleye Aina, obtained Wednesday, stated that Adeleke had directed that the arrears of salaries and pensions from 2016 be paid immediately.

Following this, in a statement jointly signed by the state chairmen – Nigeria Labour Congress, Jacob Adekomi; Trade Union Congress, Adekola Adebowale, and the JNC, Lasun Akindele, obtained in Osogbo on Thursday, the labour leaders described the governor’s gesture as unprecedented.


The statement partly read, “The payment of salary arrears, contributory pensions and most importantly, outstanding deductions, will boost the morale of active public servants and renew the hope of retired officers.

“Therefore, the Labour Movement on behalf of the entire workers and retirees pledge our continued loyalty and support to your good government for this act of kindness which will definitely serve as a veritable drive for increased productivity of our dutiful members.”

Southern, Middle Belt Leaders Endorse Peter Obi

 The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) has endorsed Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP).

The decision was announced on Thursday in a communique read by John Nwodo, the immediate past president-general of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, at the end of a meeting of the forum in Abuja.

The SMBLF, chaired by Edwin Clark, is made up of leaders from the middle-belt area, as well as groups including the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Afenifere, and the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF).

“That we give our unalloyed vote of thanks to our father and leader, Chief Edwin Clark, for his boldness, his sagacity, his tenacity, and his relentlessness in pursuing the aims and aspirations of this organisation,” the communique reads.

“That we warn all those who want to change the hands of the clock of Nigeria by doing anything that will derail a peaceful transition to the next civilian government of this country, that we shall rise like one man in defence of the ballot box and that Nigerians must go to vote.

“This we have resolved today and we enjoin other Nigerians who do not belong to our organisation to join us in realising this for the betterment of Nigeria: Peter Obi is your son and he is the rock upon which Nigeria will stand.”

Also in attendance at the SMBLF meeting were Ayo Adebanjo, Afenifere leader; and Bittus Pogu, president of the Middle Belt Forum.

Obi’s endorsement by the forum comes after Clark, convener of PANDEF, threw his weight behind the LP presidential candidate.

The PANDEF leader had said electing Obi is the country’s “best hope of a new Nigeria of peace, stability and progress”.

Also, former President Olusegun Obasanjo had, in January, announced his decision to support Obi.

“None of the contestants is a saint but when one compares their character, antecedent, their understanding, knowledge, discipline and vitality that they can bring to bear and the great efforts required to stay focused on the job, particularly looking at where the country is today and with the experience on the job that I personally had, Peter Obi as a mentee has an edge,” Obasanjo had said.

Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue, had also backed the endorsement of Obi by Obasanjo, adding that if he were not a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he would have campaigned for the LP candidate.

Why We Cancelled Approved Venue For Atiku’s Rally- Wike

 Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike has explained that his government stopped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council from using the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium to campaign for its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar to safeguard the facility from vandalism.

The Governor spoke at the kick-off of the Rivers PDP campaign for Degema Local Government Area that held at Agri Field in Degema town on Thursday.

Wike described the claim that the Rivers government did not want PDP Presidential Campaign Council to campaign in the State as erroneous as he recalled that the government earlier gave approval to the party to use the stadium at no cost.

He said: “Don’t say we stop them from holding rally, we didn’t. They applied to me and I gave (Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium) them. They now went back and began to meet with the faction of the opposition and you know that the opposition has never held any rally without violence.

“And I said I cannot joke with Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium. Since we have this intelligence we will not allow it. Did anybody force us to give them before? Are we not the ones who gave them? Did they pay money? Go and see the place. I know they are happy because they know there is no way they can fill that stadium. Instead of them to say thank God for covering our shame.”

He declared that the unit-by-unit mobilisation of voters adopted by the PDP in the State was one of the strategies that would make it difficult for security agencies to rig the 2023 general election

The Governor maintained that electorate would participate in the forthcoming election following the mobilisation.

Atiku Has An App For Cashless Vote Buying - Femi Fani-Kayode

 According to chief Femi Fani-Kayode, the reason why Atiku supports Emefiele's cashless policy and is against the extension of the deadline for old naira notes is because PDP has an app that they can use to send money cashlessly to his supporters during the election.

During his interview with Seun Okinbaloye of Channels TV, Fani-Kayode said, "they know about the special app that they have. They know about the number of people on that app that they've already collated so they can be sending credit to them on behalf, so that when they don't have cash it'll say "Atiku is sending you 10,000 naira" throughout the election period. They have a plan for this. They know what they want to do."

He said, "So people should suffer? Simply because you have an app? And in that app you're going to be sending people money? And say 'hey have credit, you can cash the money later?' Their plan, and they are working with CBN, is to ensure that no money comes out at all in this country up until the end of February. That's their plan."

Source

Do you believe him? Do you know the name of the app and the number of people on the app? Should we all join in order to get paid💰?