News

By Muhammad Abdurrahman

A photo and video clip of a man and his wife went viral in the past days on Nigerian social media. Several users, especially on Twitter, alleged that the wife was 11 years old while the man looked much older.

Others condemned the marriage, calling the man a paedophile and other unprintable words.

The man, identified as Aminu Danmaliki, debunked all these rumours. He those sharing them “blackmailers and doubting Thomas”.

Danmaliki, in a Facebook post, says:

“My recent marriage with Sakina has generated a lot of tension and unfounded allegations that I married an underage girl, some suggesting she is 11 years old and that she was forced to marry me. That is untrue.

“The wedding video went viral. We decided to keep mute, but [I] was advised to state the true facts. Here it is: My beloved wife is 21 years old. She made her own choice of me as her husband, and I loved her too.

“I hope the blackmailers and doubting Thomas will see the reality in this picture and leave us alone to enjoy our honeymoon.”

Danmaliki, per his social media profile, hails from Bauchi. However, he now lives in Abuja. The Daily Reality has not been able to contact him for further information.

By Muhammadu Sabiu 

The benchmark interest rate will rise by 50 basis points to 18% following a vote by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, revealed this while reading the communiqué from the second MPC meeting of the year on Tuesday in Abuja.

In a statement to the media following the two-day meeting, Emefiele stated that the committee had decided to maintain the asymmetrical corridor around the MPR at +100 and -500 basis points.

According to the governor, the small increase is intended to lessen the impact of inflation and other economic problems.

Since April 2022, when it was 11.50%, the MPR has been increasing.

The rate affects lending and inflation rates, which, when raised, have an adverse effect on the rise in the cost of goods and services.

By Aisar Fagge

The Zamfara State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) raised the alarm that the Nigerian Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba has deployed a team of special forces to rig the Zamfara governorship election.

The Peoples Democratic Party in a statement today in Gusau through the Dauda Lawal Media Office accused the Inspector General of conniving with governor Matawalle to rig the governorship election in his favor.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the results of 11 local governments out of 14 local government areas of the state.

The People’s Democratic Party polled 325, 238 votes while the All Progressive Congress polled 251, 006.

“As it stands, we have won nine local governments while the APC won two local governments. We are waiting for the official announcement of three local government areas: Kauran Namoda, Maradun, and Birnin Magaji”.

“From the announced results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), we are winning with a margin of 74,232.

“Our major concern is the interference of the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba. We raised the alarm on election day that there was no police presence across the state. It was a plot by the Zamfara state commissioner of police to aid the ruling APC in manipulating the process.

“Our verified sources have confirmed to us that the Inspector General of Police has deployed a team of special forces to Zamfara. They were flown to Sokoto from Abuja. We have learned that they are on their way to coming into Zamfara to cause chaos and create tension in the state capital.

“The Inspector General of Police in connivance with the Zamfara state government hellbent on manipulating the successful announcement of the result. They want to create a scene that will lead to the loss of lives and properties in Zamfara.

“We call on the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmoud Yakubu to call the Zamfara State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) to order. We have lost confidence in him.

“Zamfara State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) is intentionally delaying the process of the announcement of the result, giving the governor room for manipulation.

“All collated results from 14 local government areas are ready and in the state collation center. We don’t know why they are delaying the process.

“The president, security agencies, and international observers should pay close attention to the process in Zamfara state.”

By Muhammadu Sabiu 
 
Yusuf Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress was defeated in the Kano governor’s race by Abba Yusuf, a candidate for governor from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
 
Gawuna, the state’s deputy governor, is Abdullahi Ganduje’s chosen candidate, and Rabiu Kwankwaso, the former governor of Kano State and the NNPP’s presidential candidate, is a strong supporter of Abba Yusuf.
 
At the conclusion of the collation across 44 local government areas (LGAs) in the state, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Yusuf the winner.
 
The returning officer, Ahmad Dokko Ibrahim, declared that Yusuf got 1,019,602 votes, while Gawuna got 890,705 votes.
 
In 2019, Yusuf ran against Ganduje in what was viewed as an extremely contentious election that was considered rigged.
 
 
 

By Uzair Adam Imam

As votes were cast yesterday, the Kano State people continue to wait for the official announcement of the Governorship and the State House of Assembly elections` results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The umpire electoral body has this evening started the official announcement of the result today as returning officers of various polling units across the 44 local government areas submitted their elections results to the INEC.

However, some supporters of Eng. Abba Kabir Yusuf, the gubernatorial candidate of Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso`s New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), have started celebrations, given the wave of success they see from the results of various local government areas of the state.

The supporters took to their various social media platforms to celebrate Eng. Abba Kabir Yusuf said they foresee a better Kano under his administration, adding that they voted for him to continue the good work of his political godfather, Eng Rabi`u Musa Kwankwaso.

The supporters predicted that Abba would win the election, and their posts, “Abba is coming, in sha Allah”, went viral on Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, among many other social media platforms, including Tiktok.

Eng. Abba Kabir Yusuf, popularly known as Abba Gida-Gida, has been the major opponent of Dr Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC).

Gawuna, who is the Deputy Governor of the state, was nominated by Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to succeed him.

During the BBC`s debate for the governorship candidates in the state, Gawuna was also reported to have said that he would continue the good works of all his predecessors, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, Eng. Rabi`u Musa Kwankwaso and Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.

Other candidates include Sadiq Wali of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sha`aban Sharada of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), and Malam Ibrahim Kalil of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), among other candidates.

By Muhammadu Sabiu 

Yakubu Dogara, a former speaker of the House of Representatives, alleges that there was widespread vote-buying yesterday during the gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections in some local councils in Bauchi State.

Dogara made this claim after casting his ballot in Gwarangah 007 Polling Unit in Bogoro Local Council.

He said, “There is massive vote-buying going on across polling units; security agencies have been briefed. From the information I have received, we saw what is going on in Darazo local council, the same thing in some local councils in Bauchi North.

“I’m also aware from the security team that lots of vote-buying is going on in Alkaleri local council. I hope the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and security agencies will be on their toes to deal with this so that we can have free, fair elections,” Dogara said.

He added that it took him five hours before he could vote during the last election, but there was an improvement this time around.

By Muhammad Suleiman Yobe

Speaker Yobe State House of Assembly, Hon. Ahmed Lawan Mirwa of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, has lost his seat in the just concluded governorship and state house of assembly elections held yesterday, Saturday, March 18, 2023.

Lawan Mirwa, representing Nguru outside constituency in the Yobe State House of Assembly since 2003, has lost his seat to People’s Democratic Party, PDP, candidate Musa Lawan Majakura.

Majakura got 6,648 votes, Mirwa got 6,466 votes, Bukar Jatau of New Nigeria People’s Party got 23 votes, while Mai Zare Idriss Idriss of APM Party got 14 votes followed by Isah Sa’idu Shehu of the ADC party who got 30 votes.

While declaring the election results, the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC’s returning officer, Nguru Outside state Constituency, Alhaji Mahdi Damaturu, announced Lawan Musa Majakura of the PDP as the winner.

“Musa Lawan Majakura of People’s Democratic Party, PDP, having satisfied the requirement of the law, is hereby declared the winner and return elected”, he added.

Musa Lawan Majakura, who is 29 years old, obtained a diploma from Atiku Abubakar College of Legal and Islamic Studies Nguru, Yobe state. Before winning this election, the ruling party APC did its best to force him to withdraw his candidacy, but he refused.

Recalled that the Speaker, Ahmed Lawan Mirwa, first came to the Yobe State House of Assembly in 2003 and became the Speaker of the House in 2019.

By By Abdullahi Khairalla

In the early hours of today, the people of Maiduguri, Borno State, woke up with the sad event of an unfortunate mishap of fire incident at Maiduguri Gamboru market, which led to the destruction of properties worth millions of Naira.

This has thrown the people of the metropolis into a frenzy as they are yet to come to terms with the losses incurred by the Monday Market inferno a few weeks before.

Similarly, another fire accident occurred in Biu local government area. The town’s central market was also engulfed by fire, bringing chaos to the people in the area and surrounding.

This is happening days before Ramadan, a period associated with hikes in the prices of goods and services, which may lead to untold hardship.

Authorities have yet to speak about the incidents as during this report. However, this might be due to ongoing gubernatorial and state assembly elections today.

By Muhammadu Sabiu 

Reports from Katsina in northwest Nigeria indicate that bandits had attempted to sabotage elections in the state, in which one person was allegedly burned to death.

According to a report by Channels TV, the person who was set on fire was a member of the bandits who arrived to sow chaos.

The incident happened at a polling unit along the General Hospital Road in the Batsari Local Government District of Katsina State.

According to witnesses, a squad of security forces intercepted the suspected bandit and a member of his gang.

There was no more information about the incident when this report was filed.

By Muhammad Suleiman Yobe

The governorship candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, Malam Aminu Ibrahim, has accused the All Progressive Congress APC of using money to buy the people’s votes.

Malam Aminu Ringim stated this shortly after casting his vote at the Marakawa 008 polling unit in Katutu Primary School in Ringim Local Government in Jigawa State.

Ringim alleges that APC representatives give people cards and money when voting for their party.

This came shortly after the police arrested a party representative, distributing cards and money to those who voted for the party.

“We witnessed how votes are buying in Jigawa state, and we are taken pictures of how things are going”, Ringim.

He also alleged that there was a polling unit where the presiding officer was taken away in a car.

“Now we are collecting information, and once we have completed it, we will take the appropriate action,” Ringim said.

He, therefore, called on the public to avoid selling their votes during this election.