News
INEC declares Tinubu winner of 2023 presidential election
The Independent National Electoral Commission has declared the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, as the president-elect.
Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor, was declared the president-elect after the 70-year-old polled 8,794,726 votes to win the 2023 presidential election.
The INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, announced Tinubu as the winner at the International Collation Centre in Abuja during the early hours of Wednesday.
Tinubu won the election ahead of other contenders — the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Atiku Abubakar; the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi; and the New Nigeria Peoples Party candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The three leading presidential candidates won in 12 states each while Kwankwaso claimed only Kano State.
Tinubu edged Atiku, a former vice president and his closest challenger, with no fewer than 1.8 million votes.
The 2023 presidential election is the first time that Tinubu contested for the nation’s top job.
The former senator left office as a two-term governor of Lagos State in 2007 and is credited with leading the coalition that ousted the PDP from power in 2015 and has extended his influence beyond the South-West region in recent years.
Aside from Tinubu; Obi; Atiku, and Kwankwaso, other candidates that gunned for the nation’s oval office include Dumebi Kachikwu of the African Democratic Congress; Kola Abiola, People’s Redemption Party; Omoyele Sowore, Africa Action Congress; Adewole Adebayo, Social Democratic Party; Malik Ado-Ibrahim, Young Progressive Party; Prof Christopher Imumulen, Accord Party; Prof Peter Umeadi, All Progressives Grand Alliance; and Yusuf Mamman Dan Talle, Allied Peoples Movement.
The list also includes Hamza Al-Mustapha, Action Alliance; Sani Yusuf, Action Democratic Party; Nnnadi Osita, Action Peoples Party; Oluwafemi Adenuga, Boot Party; Osakwe Felix Johnson, National Rescue Movement; and Nwanyanwu Daniel Daberechukwu, Zenith Labour Party.
A tally of the votes announced by electoral officials from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Tinubu, in Borno, polled 252,282 votes across the 27 local government areas and was declared the winner by the state Collation Officer, Prof. Jude Rabo.
Atiku and Obi could only garner 190,921 votes and 7,205, respectively while Kwankwaso amassed 4,626 votes.
In Rivers State, Tinubu raked in 231,591 votes from 23 LGAs while the LP scored 175, 071 votes and the PDP polled 88, 468 votes.
The Federal Capital Territory, however, proved to be a game changer for the Labour Party, which floored both Tinubu and his PDP counterpart.
Obi’s popularity in Abuja fetched him 281,717 votes while the former Lagos governor and the former VP shared the remaining slots of 90,902 votes and 74,149 respectively. Kwankwaso also polled 4,517 votes.
But Tinubu made up for his losses in some northern and middle belt states which included Zamfara, Kwara, Benue and Kogi States.
In Benue, the APC amassed 310,468 votes to relegate LP (308,372), PDP (130,081) and NNPP (4,740) to second, third and fourth places.
In Zamfara State, he polled 298,396 votes against LP’s 1,660; NNPP’s 4,044 and the PDP’s 193,978 votes.
As expected, Obi soared above other candidates in Plateau where he won by 466,272 votes compared to APC’s 307,195; PDP’s 243,808 while NNPP settled for 8,869 votes.
The states won by Tinubu so far include Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Kwara, Ekiti, Kogi, Benue, Zamfara and Jigawa, while Atiku emerged victorious in Bauchi, Yobe, Gombe, Kaduna, Kebbi, Bayelsa, Adamawa and Akwa Ibom.
On the other hand, Obi has won Lagos, Enugu, Cross River, Nasarawa, Imo, Anambra, Abia, Delta and Plateau states as well as the FCT.
In the final computation, APC polled 8,794,726 votes, PDP amassed 6,984,520 votes, LP scored 6,101,533 votes and NNPP garnered 1,496,687 votes.
Declaring Tinubu as the winner, the INEC boss said, “That Tinubu Bola Ahmed of the APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
Former Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji, has described Pastor Jerry Uchechukwu Eze as an exceptional man of God whose ministry has made a profound impact on humanity.
In a birthday congratulatory message issued on Saturday, August 22, 2026, Orji paid glowing tribute to the Senior Pastor of Streams of Joy International and Convener of the New Season Prophetic Prayers and Declaration (NSPPD).
“Your faith, selfless service, wisdom and commitment to the work of God continue to inspire countless lives. Your ministry has been a source of hope, guidance and spiritual upliftment to many,” Orji said.
The former Speaker further described Pastor Jerry Eze as a highly revered servant of God who is truly filled with the Holy Spirit, noting that testimonies of miracles, signs and wonders consistently follow the NSPPD prayer sessions.
While wishing the celebrant a happy birthday, Orji prayed that God would continue to increase him in ministry, wisdom, knowledge and understanding, and grant him long life in peace and happiness.
The Anambra state police command has arrested a suspect for allegedly impersonating, False Representation of Mr Linus Williams “BLord” and defrauding members of the public.
According to the charges of false representation using the name of Blood to defraud the public the 22 year old young man Hillary Tochukwu Enujekwu from Okpanam in Delta state is accused of committing the crime punishable under Section 386 of the Criminal Code , Cap 36 , Vol 2 Revised Law of Anambra state of Nigeria 1991.
However the Magistrate Court did not sit on this Friday and the accused was returned to the State Criminal Investigation Department Amawbia.
Speaking to reporters Mr Linus William aka Blord confirmed that the accused had been using a fake TikTok handle claiming that he is Blord adding that he is not active on TikTok and is yet to verify his TikTok.
“I am at the Magistrate Court Amawbia in respect of a matter that was brought to the Court over a young man that has been using my videos and my pictures to defraud the public for the past three years”
“He has been n notorious on TikTok and he has about 11 million likes on TikTok and about 870,000 or there about followers on TikTok”
“Meanwhile my original TikTok has about 150,000 followers with 1,5million likes but this young man has about 11.6 million and that is ten times of my profile and people take his profile as the real Blord profile and they have been transacting with him and defrauded more than 100 people millions of naira and dollars ”
“Many of them came to the station to write their statements and the young man has confessed and agreed to the crime and the family has been begging for us to know how to settle the matter”.
“We came to Court today but the Court did not sit and they are taking the boy back to Police custody State Criminal Investigation Department where he is being remanded”
William recalled that when the matter came up, he reported to the Police who took action and arrested boy and invited him over to come and see the suspect .
“We went through his phone and all the videos on his phone are my videos, the number that he has been using to defraud them and once you call that number his number will ring and he used it to defraud people running into millions, 1,000 dollars , 3,000 dollar’s 5 million at different scenario and people believe that I was the one that defrauded them”.
“When he defraud the victims he will tell them to come to the office and we have nine different branches of my office and when they come we tell them that it not Blord profile” he said.
William thanked the Police for a job well done addin that he is innocent of those allegations against him.
William further explained that his outfit is verifiable on Instagram adding that his TikTok is yet to be activated .
“The Blord is on Instagram and I have a verify Instagram and verified Facebook but am not on TikTok and I am working towards verifying myself on TikTok”
“For you to get a legitimate Blord, make sure that the profile is verified and and if you feel doubted, we have office in nine major Cities and one should be close to you and you can come to the office and do your transactions ” he said.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer SP Tochukwu Ikenga said that the matter is before the Court of law hence cannot comment on it .
News
2027: Mandate Group Endorses ex Abia Speaker Chinedum Orji for Ikwuano/Umuahia Fed Constituency Seat
The Ikuku 2027 Mandate Group has endorsed former Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji, as its preferred candidate to represent Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives in 2027.
In a statement titled, “Representation with Experience, Legislation with Results: The Ikwuano/Umuahia Compact for 2027,” the group said its position followed what it described as a careful assessment of aspirants seeking to represent the constituency.
According to the group, Orji stood out on the basis of his experience, capacity, character and record of public service, having previously served as Leader and Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly.
The group said its support for the former Speaker was based on what it described as a desire to take tested legislative experience to the National Assembly.
“We are presenting Rt. Hon. Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji to represent our Federal Constituency in 2027. This is not a campaign of noise. It is a campaign of structure, law, and delivery,” the group stated.
It said Orji’s experience in presiding over legislative debates, passing budgets and exercising oversight over the executive would equip him to effectively represent the constituency in Abuja.
The group outlined security, economic relief, youth employment, education, healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture and transparency as key areas of its proposed legislative agenda for the constituency.
On security, it said Orji would support legislation aimed at strengthening community policing, local security architecture and federal intervention against kidnapping and violent crime across Ikwuano, Umuahia North and Umuahia South.
The group also said he would focus on legislation and oversight aimed at reducing the cost of doing business, improving access to credit for small and medium-scale enterprises and protecting households through scrutiny of policies affecting fuel and electricity costs.
On youth development, the group said the proposed agenda would seek to connect young people in the constituency to federal employment, entrepreneurship and skills-development programmes, including initiatives of the National Directorate of Employment and the Bank of Industry.
It added that education and healthcare would also feature prominently, with plans to advocate increased intervention in schools, expand access to scholarships and bursaries, and pursue improvements in primary healthcare and federal health infrastructure across the three local government areas.
The Ikuku 2027 Mandate Group further said Orji would use legislative engagement, budgetary advocacy and oversight to pursue federal road, electrification and water projects in the constituency.
“A legislator does not build a road, but he fights for it in the budget and monitors it,” the group stated, adding that quarterly reports on approved projects and their implementation would form part of its proposed accountability framework.
On agriculture, the group said the agenda would focus on policies supporting agro-processing, storage facilities, access to agricultural grants and improved market access for farmers, particularly in Ikwuano.
It also promised an open and accessible representation model, including annual scorecards, town-hall meetings across the three LGAs and a public tracker for constituency interventions.
The group said women, persons with disabilities and other underrepresented groups would also feature in its inclusion agenda, alongside support for women-owned businesses and girls’ education.
It further argued that the constituency deserved stronger federal presence, including more intervention programmes, training centres, agencies and infrastructure projects.
According to the group, its 2027 campaign would be built around ward-level engagement, policy town halls and what it described as data-driven voter outreach.
“Sloganeering gets attention. Campaigning gets results. And with Chinedum, you get both,” it stated.
The group described the proposed agenda as a “compact” with the people of Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South, built around legislation, effective oversight, accessible representation and transparency.
“This is our contract with you: Legislation that protects. Oversight that delivers. Representation that is accessible. In 2027, vote for experience that has led, and leadership that will legislate,” the group stated.
It adopted the campaign message: “Ikwuano/Umuahia First. Experience That Works.”
The statement reads in full
REPRESENTATION WITH EXPERIENCE, LEGISLATION WITH RESULTS: The Ikwuano/Umuahia Compact for 2027″
BY IKUKU 2027 MANDATE GROUP
1. THE VERDICT AFTER SCRUTINY
After a careful examination and scrutiny of all those aspiring to represent Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South Federal Constituency, and after weighing verifiable empirical indices of service, capacity, and character, one name stands clearly above the rest: Rt Hon Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji. He stands out as the most suitable because he has distinguished himself as a man of independent mind, tested experience, natural charisma, loyal followership, and above all, a human heart that beats for the people. In a race where many talk, he has a record to show.
2. THE MANDATE
We are presenting Rt Hon Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji to represent our Federal Constituency in 2027. This is not a campaign of noise. It is a campaign of structure, law, and delivery. Having served as Leader and Speaker at the subnational level, he understands how to turn the voice of the people into laws that actually work.
3. WHY EXPERIENCE MATTERS
As former Leader and Speaker, Chinedum presided over debates, passed budgets, and held the executive to account. That is the experience we are taking to Abuja: the skill to draft bills, build consensus across party lines, and ensure our constituency is not just present, but influential in the National Assembly.
4. SECURITY OF LIVES AND PROPERTY
For us, the first duty is safety. Chinedum will sponsor and support legislation to strengthen community policing, support local security architecture, and increase federal intervention against kidnapping and violent crime across Ikwuano and the two Umuahia LGAs. A safe constituency is a productive constituency.
5. THE ECONOMY AND COST OF LIVING
Food, transport, and power costs are biting our people. His focus will be on laws that reduce the cost of doing business for our traders in Umuahia markets, support SMEs with access to credit, and protect households through oversight of fuel subsidy reforms and electricity tariff structures. We are legislating relief, not just talking about it.
6. JOBS, YOUTH AND SKILLS
Youth unemployment is not a slogan to Chinedum. It is a policy problem. He will push for a Federal Constituency Skills and Entrepreneurship Act to link our young people to NDE, BOI, and digital job programs. Internships, vocational centers, and startup support will be tracked quarterly and reported back to the people.
7. EDUCATION AS A FOUNDATION
From primary schools in Ikwuano to tertiary access in Umuahia, education must work. He will advocate for increased UBEC and TETFund releases to our schools, sponsor bills for STEM (Science , Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and vocational education, and establish a transparent constituency scholarship and bursary scheme tied to merit and need.
8. HEALTHCARE THAT REACHES YOU
Our PHCs must have drugs, staff, and power. Chinedum will use legislative oversight to ensure NHIA ( National Health Insurance Authority) enrollment drives reach our wards, push for constituency health bills, and lobby for federal health infrastructure upgrades in our three LGAs. No mother should die giving life.
9. POWER AND INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGH LAW
A legislator does not build a road, but he fights for it in the budget and monitors it. Chinedum will lobby for the inclusion of key Ikwuano-Umuahia roads, rural electrification, and water projects in federal budgets, and he will publish quarterly reports on what was approved and what was delivered. Oversight is his promise.
10. AGRICULTURE AND MARKET ACCESS
Ikwuano’s farmland and Umuahia’s markets are economic engines. He will support legislation for agro-processing, storage facilities, and easier access to federal agricultural grants. We will connect farmers to markets and reduce post-harvest losses through policy, not promises.
11. GOOD GOVERNANCE AND TRANSPARENCY
Having been Speaker, Chinedum knows how budgets are padded and projects disappear. He will run an open office: annual scorecards, town halls in all three LGAs, and a public tracker for all constituency interventions. The people must see where the money goes.
12. WOMEN AND INCLUSION
Legislation must reflect everyone. He will champion bills that support women in business, protect girls’ education, and ensure 35% inclusion of women and PWDs in constituency appointments and programs. Representation without inclusion is incomplete.
13. FEDERAL PRESENCE FOR OUR CONSTITUENCY
We deserve more federal projects and institutions. Chinedum will use his legislative relationships to attract agencies, training centers, and intervention programs to Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South. Our size and capital city status must translate to federal advantage.
14. CAMPAIGNS, NOT JUST SLOGANS
Let’s be clear: electioneering is more than chants. This campaign will be built on ward-to-ward engagement, policy town halls, and data-driven voter outreach. Yes, we will have a message you can remember. But behind every slogan will be a bill number, a budget line, and a plan. Sloganeering gets attention. Campaigning gets results. And with Chinedum, you get both.
15. THE COMPACT
This is our contract with you: Legislation that protects. Oversight that delivers. Representation that is accessible. In 2027, vote for experience that has led, and leadership that will legislate.
“Ikwuano/Umuahia First. Experience That Works.”
Hon. Alex Mascot Ikwechegh, Member representing Aba North/Aba South Federal Constituency, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for what he described as “responsive leadership” following the Federal Government’s decision to accelerate implementation of the 2026 budget.
Speaking on Magic FM, Aba, on Thursday, Ikwechegh said the renewed push to release funds to Ministries, Departments and Agencies demonstrated that the President listens to the legislature.
“Mr. President has shown he is a listening President who has the interest of the nation at heart. He did not see our concerns as opposition. He saw them as part of our job to ensure Nigerians get value for money,” the lawmaker stated.
Ikwechegh had earlier drawn national attention after raising a motion on the floor of the House over delays in budget releases despite appropriations passed by the National Assembly. The intervention sparked debate among lawmakers over the slow pace of capital project execution.
The Federal Government has since announced measures to fast-track releases under the 2026 Appropriation Act, which provides for an aggregate expenditure of ₦68.32 trillion, with ₦32.2 trillion earmarked for capital expenditure.
According to Ikwechegh, legislative oversight is most effective when it produces concrete results.
“Our job is to speak firmly when policies are not working, and to also acknowledge when government takes corrective action. That is how the executive and legislature serve the people together,” he said.
The Abia lawmaker stressed that the real test of the budget lies in delivery — completed roads, functional hospitals, jobs for youths, and improved services across constituencies.
He expressed optimism that with improved coordination between the National Assembly and the Presidency, Nigerians will increasingly begin to feel the impact of the 2026 budget as implementation gathers momentum.
Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan was the front-runner after last month’s first informal vote, in which the council’s 15 members, including the five with veto power, pass judgment in secret on the candidates.
Argentina’s Rafael Grossi — the current head of the UN nuclear watchdog — is also a candidate along with Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Ecuador’s Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Uganda’s Olara Otunnu and Senegal’s Macky Sall.
After the first round concluded, Ecuador’s Ivonne A-Baki threw her hat into the race to succeed Antonio Guterres, who will complete his second five-year term on December 31, 2026.
“While the first straw poll set the scene for the Secretary-General race, the second may give us some direction about where it is headed,” said the International Crisis Group’s Daniel Forti.
“Diplomats expect fluctuations in the vote distribution compared to the July poll. Most will be watching to see whether the early front-runners consolidate their support or slip in the standings.
“It is unlikely that any candidate will emerge from (Friday’s) poll with a decisive lead.”
Forti said the veto-wielding nations — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — might wait until later to express their preferences, while new contenders could emerge.
Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, said Thursday he could not rule out that possibility.
“If, for example — I’m speculating now — if there is a deadlock on any of the candidates we are seeing today, if nobody… flies, then I think that we may see other candidates as well,” Nebenzia said.
Even if a candidate earns the required nine votes from the 15 available in the Security Council, they must also avoid a veto by the five major powers, which are deeply divided.
Once a candidate clears those bars, their name will go to the General Assembly of all UN members for confirmation.
The Security Council straw poll was devised in the early 1980s in an attempt to break a deadlock between two candidates shut down by vetoes.
The informal mechanism has persisted, in various forms, despite criticism from countries opposed to the opaque process.
“There is a good chance that some nominees realise after (Friday’s) vote that their campaigns have reached the end of the road,” Forti added.
Each member state must anonymously assign each candidate one of three labels: “encourage,” “discourage,” or “no opinion.”
That would give those with no support the opportunity to withdraw — though they are not obliged.
In the first rounds of the process expected to take several weeks, all ballots are the same colour.
But after an unspecified number of votes, the ballots of the five permanent members will become a different colour from those of the elected members, making it possible to identify potential vetoes, without knowing which country blackballed any given candidate.
It is tradition that the UN’s top job should rotate between different regions.
Under that premise, the role should go to a candidate from Latin America this time. There are many candidates from the region, though Sall and Otunnu hail from Africa.
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