The Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji (BAO) Campaign Organisation has dared former governor Segun Oni to challenge the outcome of the just concluded governorship election in Ekiti State. Mr Cyril Fasuyi, who is the Director-General of the organisation, stated this during his appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics a day after the poll held. “It is usual for Engineer Segun Oni and his team,” he said of the reaction from Oni who was the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the election. “When you see a man that has a habitual way of thinking that if it is not him, then it is nobody; then you won’t be shocked that a party that was defeated with over 100,000 votes … comes to say it rejects the result, it is amazing. “There is nothing wrong, he is free to go anywhere. In court, there is this usual parlance that he who alleges must prove; so, we are waiting, they should bring out all the proofs they have against us.” The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Biodun Oyebanji, as the winner of the keenly contested election. Oyebanji polled 187,057 votes – over 100,000 votes more than that of his closest rival, Oni who scored 82,211 votes in the election. Mr Bisi Kolawole of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) came third in the poll with 67,457 votes.   Biodun Oyebanji turned up to vote in the Ekiti governorship elections on June 18, 2022. Sodiq Adelakun/Channels Television Biodun Oyebanji turned up to vote in the Ekiti governorship elections on June 18, 2022. Sodiq Adelakun/Channels Television A day after the APC flagbearer was returned elected, Oni who was governor between 2007 and 2010, through his media aide, Moses Jolayemi, rejected the outcome of the election, citing electoral malpractices allegedly by the ruling party. Jolayemi had also accused the APC of hiring hoodlums for vote-buying and snatching of ballot boxes – claims which the APC swiftly denied. “I was the director-general of BAO campaign organisation; I have knowledge of everything that was done and there was nothing (to suggest vote-buying) in the entire budget of BAO campaign organisation,” Fasuyi stressed. “There was only one budget to which I was a party and there was no line called vote-buying. I was a principal actor from the beginning to the end.” Reacting to the arrest of some persons by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations of vote-buying, Fasuyi stated that the APC has no connection with the activities of the suspects. According to him, it could be a ploy by perceived opponents seeking to link the ruling party to a crime it has not committed.

  The Founder of Household of God Church, Reverend Chris Okotie, has asked political parties’ presidential candidates to step down for him in his bid to take over from the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.). This is as he also urged Buhari to hand over to him as Interim President in 2023, noting that he was the right person to right the wrongs in the country. The cleric made the call on Sunday while addressing journalists at his Church, Oregun, Ikeja when celebrating his 63rd birthday anniversary. Explaining the rationale behind his request, Okotie noted that he had proposed to become the interim president because that was the “solution” for the country’s challenges. According to him, we are blessed as a nation with all human and natural resources yet we are not moving forward. Through my government, everything will be alright. “I want to appeal to all presidential candidates to withdraw from the race and allow me to come in as the interim president. I want to implore Asiwaju to support my government for the betterment of the country and I also want to tell Obi that the system that introduced him cannot take him anywhere, because he cannot operate in the system we have now. All the presidential candidates should support me to succeed President Buhari as the interim president. “We must also rise above tribe and religion because there is an imbalance in the country and we are not practising federalism instead, what we are practising is a presidential system of government. Since 1999, things have been declining because the presidential system of government we are practising has failed us. “We must get rid of the National and State Assemblies because maintaining each member cost the country billions of naira. Some of the standing committees at both assemblies are not useful to the country, they are only representing themselves, not the populace. says as he arrives in Lagos “For the best of the country, both assemblies should be scrapped and the money for maintaining them should be used for something else. What we have in Nigeria today is the government of the party, by the party and for the party. “Ministers and the Commissioners should also be expunged because Nigeria’s democracy has been hijacked by the elite for their interest and they are deceiving the downtrodden who don’t know anything. And the most important of all is our constitution. It should be changed to a people-oriented constitution, not the military one we have now. After the change, we can then restructure the country for the better.” On his plans for the country after becoming the interim president, Okotie said, “If I am made the interim president, our government will be a transparent one and we will redirect the steps of the youth who are into internet fraudsters and turned them to better persons in the society and empower them. “While a young person with inclination to technology advancement will ensure financial accountability of government and each state will have control of their national resources. First, we emulated the British and now we are copying the American style of democracy that didn’t take us anywhere. “The presidential system of government has failed us woefully. We should enable professional associations constitutionally to acquire legislative power as a replacement for the removal of the legislature from our political system. “And we should also embrace the concept of aboriginal democracy, that is a government from the people, for the people and with the people. This is distinct from the current experience of political parties which is the government of the party, the party and for the party. “My government will be that of National Reconciliation and Reconstruction. The interim government shall address aberrations and anomalies in the polity. I want to implore all Nigerians to join hands in the conversations that would enable a transition to an interim government at the end of President Buhari’s administration”.

  The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has recounted the struggle to emerge as the flagbearer of the ruling party in the 2023 general elections. Recalling that his victory at the party’s presidential primary did not come easy, he said he fought a hard battle to clinch the ticket. Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos, relived his experience on Sunday when he paid a visit to the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, at his palace to receive royal blessings shortly after he returned to the state. “There is no Lagos indigene that has had the opportunity to become President of Nigeria, despite the contribution of the state to the national stability and progress,” he was quoted as saying in a statement by Mr Gboyega Akosile, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State. “The highest position attained by any Lagosian in national leadership is the position of Chief Judge of the Federation. I took up the fight to break this jinx. The battle to secure the APC ticket was hard. When I was almost fed up, I resorted to prayers. I also poured out my mind when I felt there was a gang up against my person. Thank God that I have brought home the presidential ticket.” The APC presidential candidate added, “The task ahead is to galvanise our people to get their voter’s cards and vote to enable us realise this ambition. “Getting our people to vote is the most important task before all of us. We need to take this message to our people across communities and sensitise them on the need to vote in the general elections.” APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu said his victory at the party’s primary election came as a surprise to him. Akiolu, in his response, described Tinubu as his “stubborn son”, saying it was time for political leaders in South West to close ranks and work for the victory of Tinubu at the 2023 presidential election. He stressed that the massive support received by the APC chieftain across the country must be complemented by politicians in the region. “Your emergence as the presidential candidate of your party is the beginning of another journey in your political career,” the monarch said. “All Yoruba ancestors shall be with you on this journey to make our fatherland a better place.” Tinubu left the palace to his house on Bourdillon Road in Ikoyi, where some APC governors led by the chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum, Atiku Bagudu, were waiting to receive him. Earlier, all roads leading to the presidential wing of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) were a beehive of activities as supporters trooped to the airport to receive Tinubu. Tinubu’s arrival in the state is the first since he won the APC presidential ticket. His aircraft touched down in Lagos in the company of some notable APC leaders. Various groups of artisans, women, and youth among others were among those who welcomed Tinubu back to his base, alongside cultural troupes and musical bands. Those on his entourage included the Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State; Senator Kashim Ibrahim; former APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole; and Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, among others. Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State; Senator Solomon Adeola; Senator Tokunbo Abiru; Lagos APC chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi; and members of the Lagos Executive Council led by Governor Sanwo-Olu joined the dignitaries who received the APC presidential flagbearer at the airport.

  Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), his running mate, will be an asset to the party’s campaign. On June 16, Abubakar named Okowa as his running mate for the 2023 presidential election. In a message to Nigerians on Sunday, Atiku said the office of the president requires clarity of mind on decision-making from the holder of office. He added that the decision of picking a running mate — and how it was done in countries that have acquired more experience in democratic acculturation — provides a window of assessing preparedness for the job that lies ahead.   He said in meeting up with the expectation, and more importantly to ensure that he makes a pick of a running mate that Nigerians would be proud of, it became necessary to be introspective about his choice. “The Governor of Delta State, Okowa, and I share a lot of personality attributes in common. He is a fine gentleman, but tenacious,” NAN quoted him as saying. “His experience as a senator will come in handy in some of the legislative reforms that are urgently needed to reformat our governmental processes.   “Okowa and I are incurable optimists in the future of Nigeria and the promises it holds as one united, peaceful and prosperous country. “Having him on the ticket brings a lot of asset to our campaign.” He added that in the months ahead of the general election, he and Okowa together with PDP leaders and Nigerians would work hard to ensure a convincing victory for the party. “A victory for the PDP in the general election is a victory for Nigeria. When we win, Nigeria wins,” he said. “The stakes in the election are very high, and it gives me tremendous joy that I can count on your support to win the election and get to work in earnest.”