Good morning Nigeria, welcome to Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today Sunday, 31st July 2022.
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State on Saturday met with a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, and the immediate past Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawal, in Port Harcourt.
Naija News reports that the meeting is coming a day after Dogara, Lawal, and other northern Christian leaders had rejected the Muslim-Muslim ticket presented by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The trio held a closed-door meeting at Governor Wike’s country home in Rumueprikom, Port Harcourt.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, the visitors stated that the move borders on building bridges for an all-inclusive Nigeria.
A former President, Olusegun Obasanjo is reportedly out to woo the North for the presidential ambition of flagbearer of the Labour Party, Peter Obi ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Sources that spoke with Telegraph claimed that the elder statesman has met with various individuals and critical groups in the North to support Obi.
A chieftain of a prominent group in the North who spoke with the platform on condition of anonymity said, “It is true that former President Olusegun has commenced visits to numerous personalities and groups in the North to drum up support for the Peter Obi and Datti Baba- Ahmed presidential ticket in the North. This fact I can confirm.”
The source further stated that the move by the former president has yielded minimal fruits because the people of the region are wary of the possibility of an Obi Presidency to the long-time interest of the region (North).
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan on Saturday denied sitting on letters of some senators planning to dump the All Progressives Congress.
Lawan in his reaction to some claims on some platforms noted that there is no letter of defection before him.
He further stated that the people behind the claim have not taken out time to confirm from the affected senators, if and when the letter was submitted to the Senate President.
Lawan cleared the air in a statement released through his Special Adviser (Media), Ola Awoniyi on Saturday.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) is yet to constitute its presidential campaign council over fears of fielding another Muslim as campaign Director-General.
Naija News reports that the ruling party had received backlash over its decision to field a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket for the 2023 general election.
Some individuals have interpreted the presidential ticket of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Senator Kashim Shettima as a plan to marginalise Christians.
Sources close to the party said that some APC leaders have not been able to agree on who should lead the campaign, adding that others believe that religion should not be an issue, while others argued that the issue was enough to divide the party.
The leader of pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, Ayo Adebanjo, on Friday, spoke on the group supporting the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi against the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu.
According to Adebanjo, Tinubu will only continue the incompetence of President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.
He further stated that the group know Obi very well, adding that he will not disappoint Nigerians.
Adebanjo called on Nigerians to put aside tribal differences and vote for the right leaders.
The Presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has called on lawmakers calling for the impeachment of President Muhammadu Buhari to tread softly.
The former Governor of Kano State stated that he does not know the facts the lawmakers have advised them not to be in a hurry to impeach Buhari.
Kwankwaso further stated that everyone in Nigeria is worried about the security challenges in the country.
The presidential candidate who pointed to the terrorist attack on the presidential fleet in Kastina State called on the leadership in the country to do more on security.
The convener of the Concerned Nigerian movement, Deji Adeyanju on Saturday said the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi is acting like he is running for the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria.
Adeyanju in a post on Twitter said it is painful that people who are expected to know politics are acting like amateurs.
The activist called on churches to resist the religious card in 2023, as it could backfire.
Adeyanju warned that playing the religious card will divide the nation across religious lines in the coming months.
Former Rivers South East senator and chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Magnus Abe, has emerged as the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), in Rivers State.
This is coming barely 24 hours after Abe officially announced his membership in SDP, after dumping APC over irregularities.
Abe emerged as the governorship candidate during a primary election conducted in Port Harcourt on Saturday and supervised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) senior officer, Emmanuel Isong.
Abe pulled 30 delegate votes to emerge unopposed in the contest and was declared the winner of the election by the SDP Chairman, substitution electoral committee, Muhammed Ibrahim.
The Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the 2023 election and Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa has assured that the party would resolve and overcome its current challenges before the elections.
A statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Benue state Governor, Nathaniel Ikyur, quoted Okowa as assuring that the party would go into the elections as one united family to ensure its resounding success and victory.
According to the statement, Okowa gave the assurance after a closed-door meeting with Governor Samuel Ortom at the Benue State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja.
Okowa said the reconciliation process initiated by leaders of the party to resolve all issues that emanated from the presidential primaries and his subsequent emergence as the vice presidential candidate was on, and that all issues would be resolved.
He noted that the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike was a strong party man who had worked very hard for the success of the PDP and would not want to work for another political party.
A former Secretary General of the Federation (SGF) and leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Northern Christians, Babachir David Lawal has accused the ruling party of abandoning them.
Naija News reports that Lawal has been vocally against the decision of the APC presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to field a Muslim-Muslim ticket by picking Senator Kashim Shettima.
Following the outrage that greeted the APC and Tinubu’s decision to field a Muslim-Muslim ticket, the party’s Northern Christians have vowed not to support the party in the 2023 presidential election.
Many chieftains of the ruling APC have called on Tinubu to reach out to aggrieved Christian leaders and appease.
But speaking to The PUNCH, Lawal said neither the party nor its candidates had reached out to the northern Christians.
He added that the APC, Tinubu and Shettima were behaving as if they had already won the election.
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