Nigerian newspapers review: [2027] Elections must be decided at polls, not courts – Onaiyekan, Osigwe

In today’s Nigerian newspapers review programme, Today in the News, Vanguard leads with the Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan; former Nigerian Bar Association President, Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN) and political economist, Prof. Patrick Utomi, warning that democracy is weakened when the courts become the arena in which electoral victories are finally decided.

Another headline features President Bola Tinubu renewing calls for a radical shake-up of the United Nations, insisting that reforms must start with reconstituting the Security Council to grant Africa permanent seats.

Vanguard also reports that the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Abiodun Olatunji, has cautioned the federal government against recent pronouncements and actions concerning the state of the Benin-Asaba Expressway and the ongoing intervention activities on the highway. 

Moving to another newspaper, The Guardian reports that some members of the House of Representatives, under the aegis of Save Democracy Group, have urged the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, to reconvene the National Assembly to address President Bola Tinubu’s prolonged absence from Nigeria.

The Punch reports that the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has named Kashim Ibrahim-Imam as chairman of his 2027 National Campaign Council, with former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, appointed deputy chairman.

Lastly, The Nation reports that the names of African Democratic Congress (NDC) National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, and the National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, are missing from the list of the party’s Presidential Campaign Council released Thursday.