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Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Monday, 16th October, 2023
Good morning Nigeria, welcome to the Publisher roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Monday, 16th October 2023.
1. Discard Chicago State University’s Deposition, Tinubu Tells Supreme Court
President Bola Tinubu has asked the Supreme Court to throw out the forgery evidence tendered by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar.
Recall that the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, in its judgment on September 6, dismissed the petition filed by Atiku challenging the outcome of the February 25 presidential election.
According to the tribunal, the former Vice President failed to prove all the averments in his petition, stressing that his petitions lacked merit and was dismissed.
However, Atiku filed 35 grounds notice of appeal before the Supreme Court on September 18 and asked the apex court to set aside the entire findings and conclusions of the tribunal.
In the appeal, the PDP candidate submitted that the tribunal’s findings were done with “grave errors and gross misrepresentation”, which resulted in a miscarriage of justice.
In a counter affidavit filed on Thursday, October 12, Tinubu said the apex court should dismiss the forgery evidence tendered by Atiku on the grounds that the deposition of the Registrar of the Chicago State University (CSU), Caleb Westberg, was conducted by U.S. attorneys rather than certified judicial officers.
The President claimed that the content of the deposition could not be trusted, adding that it was not held in a neutral setting because Dechert LLP, the legal firm representing Atiku, selected their West Wacker office as the venue.
2. You Are Forger-in-chief – Atiku’s Camp Fires Tinubu, Explains Former VP’s Name Controversy
The camp of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, has described President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the ‘forger-in-chief.’
In a statement to Naija News on Sunday, Atiku’s Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, claimed that the world has come to the inevitable conclusion that Tinubu is a confirmed forger-in-chief on “account of his serial forgeries and lies in the last 50 years.”
He stated that Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor, has forged and lied about every aspect of his life: his heritage, his name and date of birth, his education, certificates, and work experience.
According to Ibe, the discovery of Tinubu’s records at the Chicago State University and the court ordered deposition in the United States is only a tip of the iceberg that has been the litany of his forgeries and lies.
He, however, noted that the attempt to drag Atiku Abubakar into Tinubu’s drowning arena of forgery must be seen for what it is: “an attempt to minimise the allegations of forgeries that he has to contend with.”
3. ‘Tinubu Set To Hold Second FEC Meeting Of His Administration’
President Bola Tinubu is reportedly set to hold a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, tomorrow, Monday, 16th October, 2023.
The expected FEC meeting would be the second in the history of the Tinubu presidency after the inaugural meeting on 28th August after the new Ministers were sworn in on August 21 at the Conference Hall, State House, Abuja.
However, according to The Nation, barring any last-minute changes, President Tinubu would preside over a FEC meeting tomorrow.
Although under previous administrations, FEC meeting was held on Wednesdays, it appears that Tinubu is changing the Wednesday cabinet meeting to Monday.
4. Source Reveals Position Of Atiku On Saraki Becoming PDP Chairman
Sources quoted on developments within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) claim the major opposition party is considering picking former Senate President, Bukola Saraki as its substantive National Chairman.
It would be recalled that following the suspension of Iyorchia Ayu as the party’s chairman by a court in Benue State, Umar Damagun has been functioning in an active capacity.
However, it was gathered that strategies to rebuild the party have been kickstarted and Saraki may be picked as the consensus National Chairman. It was learnt that Saraki’s recent visit to the FCT Minister, Nyesome Wike might not be unconnected to realignment among PDP top shots.
Following the development, a source quoted by The Sun revealed that former Vice President and 2023 presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar is still maintaining his personal ties with Ayu, though he is not against Saraki becoming the party’s national chairman.
The source added that supporters of Atiku may also not oppose the move because everyone has started moving on.
5. Falana Blasts National Assembly Over State Of Basic Education
Nigerian human rights activist, Femi Falana, has blasted the National Assembly for not doing enough to improve the state of the country’s basic education.
Falana, in a press release on Sunday, October 15, stated that the national assembly is making empty claims about the inadequate state of the nation’s basic education system.
He also criticized the lawmakers for attempting to amend the Universal Basic Education Act of 2004 by enacting severe penalties for parents who fail to send their children to school.
The human rights activist continued by claiming that those in the political class have not paid enough attention to elementary education because they have not made sure that the counterpart fund that states are required to pay is paid to UBEC.
6. Atiku Used Fake Certificates To Run For President, Tinubu Tells Supreme Court
President Bola Tinubu has alleged that the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, used fake primary and secondary school certificates to contest the last election.