By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, says 1,906,390 registered voters in Osun have collected their Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in the state.

Mohammed Haruna, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

Mr Haruna said the figure represented 81.50 per cent of the total 2,339,233 registered voters in the state.

He said 432,843, representing 18.50 per cent of the total, had yet to collect their PVCs.

According to him, the uncollected PVCs have been safely deposited with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, in line with INEC’s established practice.

“Persons whose PVCs were damaged, defaced or lost applied for replacement of cards,” he said.

Mr Haruna disclosed that 6,101 voters had applied for and obtained printed downloadable copies of their PVCs.

He said the commission had published on its website the number of PVCs collected in each polling unit.

The national commissioner reassured political parties, civil society organisations, the media and voters of INEC’s readiness to conduct credible and transparent election on Saturday.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress ADC)l, Atiku Abubakar, on Friday personally appeared at the Registry of the Federal High Court, Abuja, where he deposed to an affidavit in support of a suit challenging the qualification of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to contest the 2027 presidential election.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku Abubakar, Phrank Shaibu.

According to the statement, the action, instituted by Atiku and the ADC against Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, invokes, among other provisions, Sections 137(1)(j), 139(1)(a)(i) and 285(14)(c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026.

The statement explained that at the heart of the action is Section 137(1)(j) of the Constitution, which provides that a person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if he has presented a forged certificate to INEC, noting that the suit specifically asks the court to determine whether Tinubu and the APC should be disqualified from the 2027 presidential election over the plaintiffs’ allegation that Tinubu presented a forged NYSC certificate to INEC in connection with the 2023 and 2027 presidential elections.

Speaking after personally taking the oath, Atiku said his presence at the court registry was deliberate.

“I came here personally because the issues before the court go to the heart of our Constitution and the integrity of the office of President. I cannot ask Nigerians to respect the Constitution while treating a matter of this magnitude casually. I have therefore put my name, my signature and my oath behind the facts we are presenting to the court. Now it is President Tinubu’s turn to answer them,” Shabby quoted him as saying.

In his affidavit, Atiku alleged that Tinubu submitted to INEC an NYSC discharge certificate bearing the name “Tinubu Bola Adekunle”, which, according to the plaintiffs, is different from the President’s name, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The affidavit further alleges that the same NYSC certificate was submitted in connection with the 2027 presidential election and contends that the document is not a certificate obtained by Tinubu.

The statement disclosed that Atiku has also placed INEC on notice to produce Tinubu’s Form CF001 submitted in connection with the 2023 and 2027 presidential elections, stating that he had applied for certified true copies of the relevant form before filing the suit but had received no response at the time the processes were prepared.

“This is precisely why we have gone to court. We are not asking Nigerians to decide this matter on social media, and we are not asking INEC to become a court. We are asking the institution holding the records to produce them and the judiciary to examine the evidence and pronounce on it.

“If the certificate belongs to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, let that be established before the court. If ‘Tinubu Bola Adekunle’ and ‘Bola Ahmed Tinubu’ are one and the same person for the purpose of that certificate, let the evidence establish it. These are questions that deserve answers, not political insults or presidential silence,” he added.

Beyond the certificate matter, the statement noted that Atiku and the ADC are also challenging provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, which, according to their written address, effectively restrict who may challenge the qualification of a candidate at pre-election stage and the removal of qualification as a ground for questioning an election as envisaged by Section 139(a)(i) of the Constitution, which empowers the National Assembly to make laws allowing the questioning of whether a person elected into the office of President is qualified.

Their argument, the statement said, is that legislation cannot be used to shut the door against enforcement of an express constitutional provision, contending that where an Act of the National Assembly conflicts with the Constitution, the Constitution must prevail.

“This case therefore raises a fundamental question for our democracy. Can an Act of the National Assembly be used as a shield against an express provision of the Constitution? Can we write into ordinary legislation an escape route from a constitutional standard applicable to everyone seeking the Presidency? Our position is that the Constitution remains supreme,” Atiku said.

The Arewa Youth Merger Group, APC has faulted former Kano State Governor, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso over his claim that the people of Kano do not support the position of Islamic cleric, Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir on the Muslim-Muslim ticket in Nigeria.

This was contained in a statement signed by the National Coordinator of the Group, Comrade Musa Mujahid Zaitawa and made available to journalists.

The group described Kwankwaso’s criticism of Sheikh Jingir’s opinion as his personal view and not the position of the people of Kano State.

“It is wrong for Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to interfere with the opinion of a cleric who is exercising his constitutional right as a Nigerian citizen to express his views,” the statement read.

The group further stated that it was shameful for Kwankwaso to criticize the Muslim-Muslim ticket when FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, a Christian and member of the PDP, had publicly said there was nothing unconstitutional about it.

The Arewa Youth Merger Group also noted that even Mr. Peter Obi, the NDC presidential candidate for whom Kwankwaso a running mate, had admitted that there was no problem with the Muslim-Muslim ticket and had apologized for introducing religious division into his previous campaign.

The group said Kwankwaso’s attempt to challenge Sheikh Jingir was disgraceful and urged him to desist from making statements capable of causing division among Nigerians just to satisfy his personal political ambition.

The Arewa Youth Merger Group also reaffirmed its support for the Tinubu/Shettima Muslim-Muslim ticket ahead of the 2027 general elections.