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Fitch tips Tinubu to win 2023 presidential poll

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The Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has been tipped to win the 2023 presidential election.

The prediction was contained in a report by Fitch, a leading global rating company in the world.

Fitch in the report maintained that “Tinubu is the candidate most likely to win the presidential election as a split opposition vote will favour the All Progressives Congress.”

The report also disclosed that earlier surveys showing that Obi was ahead of his opponents, Bola Tinubu (All Progressives Congress (APC) and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), were mostly based on responses gathered online.

The report stated further that since only 36.0% of Nigerians use the internet (World Bank, 2020), “we believe that these results are skewed towards urban, affluent voters who are most likely to support Obi. We also highlight that these polls suggest that a large share of voters remain undecided.

READ  Buhari vows to be at forefront of Tinubu’s campaign

“Even if these surveys were accurate at a national level, Obi’s lack of support in Nigeria’s Muslim-majority North would make it difficult for him to win next year’s election. Indeed, the North is home to the majority of all voters and turnout in this part of the country tends to be relatively high, underscoring the importance of the Northern electorate.

“According to Nigeria’s 1999 constitution, a candidate can only be elected if they both receive the majority of overall votes and over 25.0% of votes in at least 24 of the country’s 36 states. Given that Obi’s Labour Party has limited infrastructure in the North, he will struggle to meet this second voting requirement.

“Indeed, the Labour Party is not even running candidates for the Senate and House of Representatives in many northern constituencies. Furthermore, the northern electorate historically tends to vote for presidential candidates from their region. With Obi being a Christian from the South (Anambra State), increasing his voter share in the North will prove challenging.”

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Fitch added that Peter Obi is unlikely to win the presidential election.

It said, “While we believe Obi is unlikely to win the election, he will probably do well for a third-party candidate. Indeed, a third-party candidate has never reached more than 7.5% of votes in Nigeria. However, due to his frugal reputation and large social media following, we expect Obi to get a higher share of the vote than previous third-party candidates.

“As such, we believe that Obi’s popularity will most likely split the opposition vote, at the expense of the PDP. The PDP’s candidate (Atiku Abubakar) is a Northerner and we believe that the party’s only route to victory is expanding its vote in the South West and North Central states while retaining large majorities in the Southsouth and Southeast.

“However, given Obi’s popularity in the south – especially the Southsouth and Southeast – we believe it is unlikely the main opposition party will be able to gain more votes in these parts of the country.

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“Indeed, we maintain our view that the APC’s Tinubu is best placed to win the presidential election. We expect that the party, which has nominated a Muslim-Muslim ticket, will repeat its strong performance in the North. Given that Tinubu is a former governor of Lagos, the party is also likely to improve on its performance in the South West. Furthermore, we expect Tinubu to benefit from incumbency advantages, with the APC having been in power since 2015.

“Protests and social discontent are likely to increase in the aftermath of a Tinubu win. Since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, there has been an informal agreement that resulted in the presidency alternating between Northern and Southern states as well as between Christians and Muslims.”

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Court restrains NERC from implementing tariff hike for Band A customers

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A federal high court in Kano has issued an order restraining the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) from implementing the new electricity tariff for Band A consumers.

Ruling on an ex parte motion on Thursday, Abdullahi Liman, presiding judge, made an interim order restraining NERC and KEDCO from going ahead with the impending tariff pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice before it.

The order also restrained the defendant from intimidating and threatening to disconnect the applicants’ electricity supply for non-acceptance of the new increased tariff.

 

The suit marked FHC/KN/CS/144/2024 was filed by Super Sack Company Limited and BBY Sacks Limited.

 

Others are Mama Sannu Industries Limited, Dala Foods Nigeria Limited, Tofa Textile Limited and Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Limited (MAN).

The motion ex-parte was moved by Abubakar Mahmoud, counsel to the plaintiffs.

 

On April 3, NERC approved an increase in electricity tariff for customers under the Band A classification.

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The commission said customers under the category, who receive 20 hours of electricity supply daily, would begin to pay N225 per kilowatt (kW) from April 3 — up from N66.

The sudden hike has been criticised by the house of representatives and other stakeholders who have asked NERC to suspend the implementation of the new tariff.

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UK local election: Boris Johnson turned away from polling station after forgetting valid ID

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Former prime minister of the UK, Boris Johnson, was turned away from his local polling station after forgetting to bring the required photo identity.

 

Johnson had joined locals in South Oxfordshire on Thursday to vote in the police and crime commissioner election.

Polling officials however told him he would not be allowed to vote without providing his identity.

There are 22 acceptable forms of ID in the UK including passports, driving licences, blue badges, and certain local travel cards.

 

As prime minister in 2022, Johnson introduced the Elections Act which requires photo ID — a development that sparked intense criticisms from Britons.

Last year, the Electoral Commission warned that the new law could exclude hundreds of thousands of people, including minorities and those with disabilities.

A spokesperson for Johnson confirmed he had forgotten the photo ID, but that he was able to cast his ballot after he returned with a valid ID.

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“Mr Johnson voted Conservative,” Sky News quoted the spokesperson as saying.

Downing Street said it would “look into” changing the controversial rules which require photo ID in order to vote, so that ID cards of veterans can be added to the list of valid identification.

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Governors can pay N615k minimum wage if they get priorities right – NLC

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President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, says state governors can afford to pay the proposed N615,000 minimum wage if they get their priorities right.

Ajaero spoke on Thursday during an interview with Channels Television.

 

Recently, organised labour announced that the new minimum wage should be pegged at N615,000.

The proposal came amid ongoing minimum wage negotiations between federal and state governments on one hand, and organised labour on the other.

 

In 2019, the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari pegged the national minimum wage at N30,000.

After the new minimum wage was announced at the time, it took some states forever to implement the increment.

 

Asked during the interview if organised labour’s proposal of N615,000 is realistic, Ajaero said the amount is the “most realistic” given the galloping inflation in the country.

 

The NLC president said organised labour considered factors like transportation, housing, and feeding before arriving at the sum.

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“If you are talking about being realistic, the N615,000 demand is the most realistic. Being realistic is not about slave wage,” Ajaero said.

 

“However, N30,000 is big money if inflation is brought down, and at a single digit.

“Look at the indices that create inflation. If you check them, you can talk about being realistic. All other factors in the country are going high and wages remain constant.”

 

Asked if states can afford the N615,000 proposal, the NLC president averred that it is not about ability to pay but the priorities of states.

“I think we need to understand the issues of ability to pay and not getting the priority right,” he added.

 

“Most of the states that have shown willingness to pay the current minimum wage are not among those getting the highest revenue.

“During the time of Muhammadu Buhari, some states were declared not having enough money to pay and he released funds for them to pay.

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“Those states still refused to pay. It is not the question of either the quantum of money that they have or not, it is what they decide to do with such money.

 

“If they get their priorities right, then a lot can happen.”

 

Organised labour has also threatened to embark on a strike if a new minimum wage is not announced before May 31, 2024.

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