Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Sunday, 17th July, 2022

Good morning Nigeria, welcome to Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today Sunday, 17th July 2022.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Saturday underwent surgery on a leg injury, Naija News reports.

This was made known by his spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a statement on his verified Twitter handle.

Akande explained the surgery became necessary because of recurrent pain in the leg from an injury possibly while playing squash.

The vice presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Kashim Shettima says the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi is not fit to be the next President of Nigeria.

According to Shettima, Obi has no experience needed to govern a vast and dynamic nation like Nigeria nor does he have the structures to win elections.

Speaking further on Friday during an appearance on Channels TV Politics Today, the former Borno State Governor stated that what Nigeria needs in 2023 is a technocrat like the APC candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu with the capacity and connections to continue what President Muhammadu Buhari started.

Controversial writer and Professor of Journalism Farooq Kperogi has said that facts uncovered from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) allegedly show that Labour Party’s Peter Obi may become Nigeria’s president next year by default.

In an essay released on Saturday, Kperogi stated that Peter Obi might be ‘gifted’ the presidency because Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar, candidates for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) respectively, have violated the Electoral Act 2022, which may cause them to be disqualified if Obi or his Labour Party decides to them.

According to the academic scholar, the Electoral Act requires political parties to notify INEC of their intent to conduct primary elections at least 21 days before the date of their convention and also requires parties to submit their membership registers to it at least 30 days before their primary election. He stated that the APC didn’t meet the first requirement, and the PDP failed the second requirement. The Labour Party met both.

Documents an INEC insider shared with him allegedly showed that the APC didn’t notify INEC of its intent to conduct its primary election 21 days before its convention.

Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State has won his polling unit in the ongoing gubernatorial election.

Naija News reports that Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) defeated Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The Osun State incumbent governor polled 545 to defeat Adeleke who polled 69.

Result: Ward 1, Unit 2, Boripe (Governor Oyetola’s Polling Unit).

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State, Ademola Adeleke has won his polling unit in the ongoing gubernatorial election in the state.

Naija News had earlier reported that Adeleke cast his vote at Unit 009, Ward 02, Abogunde/Sagba, Ede North in the state.

Adeleke defeated the current Governor of the state and governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Gboyega Oyetola.

The PDP governorship candidate, Adeleke polled 218 votes in his polling unit on Saturday.

Barring any last-minute intervention, the notorious terror kingpin Ada Aleru is set to be coronated as the Sarkin Fulani (the chief of the Fulani) of the Yandoton Daji Emirate on Saturday (today) in Zamfara State.

The decision to give Aleru a traditional title is reportedly aimed at finding lasting peace in the crisis-ravaged Tsafe and Yandoton Daji emirates and other areas of Zamfara and Katsina states, which the terrorist had constantly attacked with his fighters.

According to Premium Times, the decision to make Aleru a chief followed dialogue between elders of the emirate and the terror leader.

The elders of the emirate had in March asked the deadly bandit to stop attacking communities in the emirate.

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Saturday met with Speakers of states of the federation governed by the party and promised them active roles in his campaigns ahead of 2023 general elections.

Speakers at the meeting which held in Abuja include Mudashiru Obasa of Lagos, Olakunke Oluomo of Ogun, Idris Garba of Jigawa, Kennedy Ibeh of Imo, Eteng Williams of Cross River, Funminiyi Afuye of Ekiti, and Oleyelogun Bamidele of Ondo.

Others are Abdulkarim Lawan of Borno, Abdullahi Bawa Wuse of Niger, Ahmed Lawan Mirwa of Yobe, Musa Maigari of Katsina, and Siddi Buba, deputy speaker of Gombe.

Tinubu commended the Speakers for the roles they played ahead of his emergence as the presidential flag bearer of the party.

President Muhammadu Buhari has said the process that led to the election of former Lagos State Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was purely democratic and a reflection of the will of party members.

According to a statement by Buhari’s spokesperson, Garba Shehu, the President said this during Sallah’s homage to the Emir of Katsina, Abdulmumini Kabir Usman, on Saturday.

Buhari said: “When the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) signaled parties to elect their presidential candidates, we had 30 aspirants, mostly ministers in my cabinet and governors.

“I told each of the aspirants to go and do their best. One particular governor, in his wisdom, came to meet me and asked who they should vote for at the party convention, checking if I had a preferred candidate.

“There was no need for interference, knowing the competence of all the aspirants. They went and elected Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and he picked his running mate, Sen. Kashim Ibrahim. I am praying that we will have a peaceful and successful elections.”

The governor of Benue state, Samuel Ortom has called on the American government and other international communities to hold the government of President Muhammadu Buhari responsible for the insecurity plaguing the country.

Ortom said this at the State Department, Washington DC while meeting with its officials.

He claimed that President Buhari and his government are after his life, citing the series of threats he has been receiving and the attempt made on his life in March last year.

He insisted that they should be held responsible if any harm should come to him.

Bashir Ahmad, a former aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) to disqualify the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi from contesting the 2023 election.

This comes after the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) filed a suit seeking the disqualification of Obi and Bola Tinubu, citing alleged illegal substitution of running mate.

In a post shared on Twitter, Ahmad claimed that the former Anambra State Governor’s name isn’t on the party’s membership list, submitted to INEC.

According to Ahmed, LP submitted its membership list to INEC on 25th April while Obi joined the party on 26th May 2022.