Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, the Chief Whip of the Senate, has declared his intention to contest for Senate presidency in the 10th National Assembly. The former Abia State Governor, disclosed this on Tuesday while briefing newsmen at the National Assembly. Recall that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), maintained a majority in the Senate, having secured 57 seats. APC Senators who are eyeing the Senate presidency are said to have started lobbying their colleagues to seek their support. Aside from Kalu, who has publicly declared interest in the position, others who are said to be interested in the office include, Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom); Sani Musa (Niger); Barau Jibrin (Kano); and Dave Umahi (Ebonyi). The candidates for the position will largely be determined by zoning, however, the APC leadership said it has not zoned the Senate presidency. Some political pundits believe that it is likely that APC might zone the post to the South for power balance, especially after its Muslim-Muslim ticket which triggered outrage from some quarters, especially the Christian community. Kalu, who won re-election to represent Abia North in the Red Chamber, told reporters that it was his turn to become Senate President, being a ranking lawmaker and from the South-East also. His words: “It is my turn to become the Senate President. If I’m elected Senate President, I will be team Nigeria. I’m going to work in every corner of Nigeria. “I schooled in Maiduguri, Borno State. I started my business in Lagos and spread it across all state capitals. My first name will be team Nigeria, my last name will be team Nigeria. “Remember, I’m the only former Governor who has never changed phone line for more than 20 years ago. I’m still willing to maintain that telephone number to answer all my calls. I’m not going to switch off my phones because I’m Senate President. “I’m hoping
Political Arena
Likely Names That May Feature In Tinubu’s Cabinet
No less than 20 people have been tipped to form the cabinet of Nigeria’s president-elect, Bola Tinubu after he alluded recently that competence rather than politics will weigh heavily on his choice of cabinet ministers. The job of Nigeria’s president easily passes as one of the toughest in the world and Tinubu has declared that he is not unmindful of the challenges he and his team face. Thus, to effectively discharge his duties as provided by the constitution, Tinubu has stated that he will hit the ground running by constituting a cabinet that will help him to run the machinery of the Nigerian state. The people who are being speculated to make his cabinet include: Babatunde Fashola Among the names that have been mentioned to be part of Tinubu’s cabinet, Babatunde Fashola tops the list, as a likely candidate for the office of the Chief of Staff to the President, based on his vast experience, age and strength of character. The Senior Advocate of Nigeria was the governor of Lagos State between 2007 and 2015. Before then, he had served as a Commissioner and Chief of Staff to Tinubu where he helped the then government of Tinubu to succeed, as Lagos State Governor, from 1999 to 2007. Little wonder, he was made to succeed Tinubu from 2007 to 2015. After his tenure, he was appointed, first as minister of power, works and housing and later Works and Housing, by President Muhammadu Buhari. Fashola was the Director, election planning and monitoring of the APC presidential campaign council. Having been a key part of Tinubu’s success story in Lagos as governor, and having been governor for eight years and minister for almost eight years, his wealth of experience is expected to stand him in good stead. Nasir El-Rufai A former director-general of the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE) and minister of the
2023 General Elections: Speaker Obasa Thanks Lagos Electorate
...Promises more Vibrant House of Assembly The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, has commended residents for their participation in the governorship and House of Assembly elections in the State saying the exercise is a further call to duty. Dr. Obasa said this in a 'thank you' message to residents of Agege for returning him to the State legislature as lawmaker representing Agege Constituency 1 and for electing Jubril Abdulkarim, a former local government council chairman, to represent Agege Constituency 2 at the 10th House of Assembly Lagos. In the message released by Eromosele Ebhomele, his Chief Press Secretary, Dr. Obasa also commended residents of the State for the love they showed the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the period leading to the election and while the exercise lasted. He noted that the victory recorded by the APC in the election was proof that the residents of the State had confidence in the party to deliver more dividends of democracy in the next four years. "We give glory to the Almighty Allah for the success of our party in this election just like He made us victorious in the presidential election. "The victory which has recorded by the APC in Lagos State is proof of the trust and confidence our people have in us. The victory is a further challenge on the incoming government and all of us who are elected to work more for the benefit of the people. "To the good people of Agege, 'thank you' for your love and active participation as well as your support for our great party. I also commend Lagosians for voting to return Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for a second term. "Now that the elections are over, it is time for all of us to come together to work in unity and achieve greater positive
Why I Chose To Work For Sanwo-Olu – Moshood Salvador
Lagos West Senatorial District candidate for the Labour Party, Moshood Salvador, has described his decision to work for the victory of Lagos state Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the March 18th governorship election in the state as the best decision any right-thinking and purpose-driven person will take. The former People’s Democratic Party [PDP], chairman in Lagos state said reason behind his resolve to work for the success of the Lagos state governor was neither borne out of pecuniary gain nor self-interest, but competence, capability character and experience. ”My decision to be among those that worked for the resounding and emphantic victory of Babajide Sanwo-Olu is the best decision. I cannot imagine entrusting government of Lagos state to a character and largely inexperienced person like Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour. The most economic viable state in Nigeria and most populous state in the country. A mediocre to handle Lagos state? No! I assessed the three of them -Jandor, Gbadebo and Gov. Sanwo-Olu and I realized that Sanwo-Olu is the best among the three, he has the experience, not too young and not too old. He has all the qualities. With all other leaders and over three hundred members of my political group, Conscience Forum, we put heads together and decided to support and worked for Babajide Sanwo-Olu.” The highly experienced politician reiterated that being a member of the Labour Party does not compel him to support someone he knows is a misfit for the job. He pointed out that even the presidential candidate of his party, Peter Obi said no one should vote for someone because of him or based on political party. ”You don’t think about political party when it comes to making the right choice. That is why I put my foot down that this guy will not go.” Moshood Salvador said apart from the fact that
Mamora Commends INEC, Says “My Voting Process Seamless’
The Minister of Science and Technology, Sen. Olorunnimbe Mamora, has applauded the improved efforts put in place by Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC], during the governorship and House of Assembly elections held across the country on March 18th, 2023. The Minister who voted in Ogudu area of Lagos state alongside his wife said the election was very important to Nigeria and only a peaceful process can guarantee confidence in the electoral body. "I was seamlessly accredited with the BVAS and voted under 3minutes, I only hope this is reflected across board" While commending INEC, the former Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly said " INEC must ensure all the little hitches that necessitated the postponement of the Governorship and House of Assembly election is now intact so that regardless of turnout, people will be satisfied after the whole process" He also appealed to Nigerians to give INEC the chance and support the electoral body to succeed in this onerous task of organizing a free, fair and credible elections.
Lagos Guber Race: Sanwo-Olu’s Achievements Speak Volumes – Femi Martins
The Special Adviser to Lagos state Governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr Femi Martins has reiterated his optimism for the Saturday, 18th March, gubernatorial election in the state, saying he’s upbeat that the election will go as expected and his party will record victory. The ebullient politician made this known while speaking with naijanewsdirect.com on issues surrounding the 2023 general elections. “My expectations are high and I have no iota of doubt that the All Progressives Congress [APC] will triumph in the state owing to his Excellency Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s positive track record, human-friendly policies and visible developmental projects across the state.” While responding to question on reason behind the increase in number of collected Permanent Voter’s Card [PVC] for this year’s elections, the APC stalwart noted that the level of awareness for this year’s election cannot be compared to the previous elections. He opined that vast majority of people are beginning to show more than passive interest in the process of electing who to govern them at various levels of government in the country. “The rise in number of collected PVCs for this year’s elections was not a surprise. People are now much more interested in who will represent them at various levels of government, this has brought out the encouragement in people that they should be part of the process. They know they have a right and that right will count”, Femi Martins concluded. Watch Out For The Full Interview!
Nigeria Records Astronomical Increase In Cyberattacks During Presidential Poll
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, has disclosed that a total of 12,988,978 cyberattacks were thwarted from within and outside Nigeria during the 2023 presidential election. Prof. Pantami made this known on Tuesday, 14th March, 2023, through a statement put out by his spokesperson, Uwa Sulaimon, a copy of which was made available to Naijanewsdirect.com . The Minister said that in the run-up to the 2023 general elections, there had been an “astronomical increase” in cyber threats to the country’s cyberspace. It was noted that a series of hacking attempts were recorded, adding that the centres successfully blocked these attacks and escalated them to the relevant institutions for appropriate action. He maintained that from Friday, February 24 to Monday, February 27, the minister had directed all the parastatals to enhance their 24/7 monitoring of the networks and traffic for potential attacks. “Generally, threats to public websites and portals averaged around 1,550,000 daily. However, this skyrocketed to 6,997,277 on Presidential Election Day,” Prof. Pantami said. “The committee’s activity started on 24th February and ended on 28th February 2023. “During this period, a series of hacking attempts were recorded, including Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), email and IPS attacks, SSH Login Attempts, Brute force Injection attempts, Path Traversal, Detection Evasion, and Forceful Browsing. “A total of 12,988,978 attacks were recorded, originating from both within and outside Nigeria.” Below is the full statement: The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), FCIIS, FBCS, FNCS, wishes to bring to the attention of the public the Ministry’s activities towards ensuring a safe and secure cyberspace for Nigerians before, during, and after the 2023 Presidential Elections. As part of its mandate, the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy is expected to ensure adequate protection of Nigeria’s cyberspace to a level that citizens will have confidence in digital
Lagos Guber Race: Dosunmu, Onitiri, Others Leave PDP, LP; Endorse Sanwo-Olu
Ahead of the Saturday, 18th, 2023, governorship and state assembly elections, prominent politicians from opposition political parties in Lago state have endorsed the All Progressives Congress [APC] candidate, Babajide Sanwo-Olu for a second term. One of them is Dr Ade Dosunmu who was the Governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2011 said it is home coming for him to join the ruling All Progressives Congress in the state. He said what is best for Lagos is to remain in the hands of the progressives since the party had retained the government at the central. Dr Dosunmu explained that his decision to pitch his tent with APC is also because Lagos for the first time has produced someone in Bola Tinubu to lead Nigeria and deserves support of all stakeholders to succeed. Chairman Elders Committee of the Labour Party, Chief Sunbo Onitiri said he returned to APC to support the tradition of continuity in Lagos. He said that he came with Chairmen of 12 political parties in the state to endorse Governor Sanwoolu for second term. Also speaking, the state party Chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi said they have opened their doors wide open to receive them into the folds of APC. He said APC will continue the giant strides of developing the state with the return of Governor Sanwoolu to Ikeja House. Ojelabi noted that the party will ensure that it redeemed its image with the Saturday, 18 March, 2023 Governorship and State Assembly Elections. According to him, for over 30 years, the country is now having as President elect, a true Democrat that knows what to do to boost socio-economic development of the country. The party’s flag was later presented as a symbol by Ojelabi to welcome the decampees to the ruling party.
Mixed Reactions As Aregbesola Returns To Lagos, Campaigns For Sanwo-Olu
The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, was in the Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State on Sunday, March 12, 2023, to campaign for the reelection of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu. Aregbesola was seen addressing a group of people in the video circulating on social media. The former governor of Osun State has canvassed support for Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, urging the people to forget about the past and vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the gubernatorial election coming up on Saturday, March 18, 2023. Recall that Aregbesola has been at loggerheads with the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for a while. The minister had distanced himself from the campaign of the APC until he was seen in Lagos on Sunday, 12th March, 2023. However, the video of Aregbesola in Lagos has generated a lot of reactions on social media. Many users said the former governor decided to campaign for Sanwo-Olu because Tinubu won the presidential election. See some reactions below.
Breaking News! INEC Postpones Governorship Elections
The Independent National Electoral Commission has postponed the governorship and state assembly elections till March 18. The exercise was previously scheduled to hold on March 11, but INEC, citing a logistics crisis stemming from BVAS configuration and transportation, said the election could not hold again as scheduled following a meeting of its executives on Wednesday evening. “The elections were postponed to allow one more week for preparations,” an official familiar with the meeting told Naijanewsdirect by telephone on Wednesday night. “We should be able to get everything in order before March 18.” The meeting was still underway at INEC headquarters in Abuja as of the time of filing this report. The commission had convinced the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal to vary its order granting Peter Obi of the Labour Party and PDP’s Atiku Abubakar permission to inspect the election materials on the premise that it had to reconfigure the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) for the conduction of the polls this Saturday.