Delivering his inaugural address on the occasion of Democracy Day on June 12, Tinubu emphasized the significance of the democratic process and paid tribute to the sacrifices made by heroes of democracy.

The newly inaugurated President acknowledged that the 2023 elections demonstrated the continued existence of a thriving democracy in Nigeria.

He highlighted one of democracy’s core virtues, which allows for the possibility of winners today becoming losers tomorrow, and vice versa.

“This year marked the seventh cycle of elections, which have become sacred rituals of our democratic practice since 1999. The intensity of these polls serves as positive evidence that democracy is indeed alive and well in our nation. While those who emerged victorious celebrate their triumph, it is natural for the disappointed and disenchanted losers to feel a sense of frustration. Nonetheless, democracy offers the chance for today’s winners to taste defeat in the future and for today’s losers to compete and succeed in the forthcoming elections.”

Tinubu further stressed that those unwilling to accept defeat in elections should not expect to relish the joy of victory when their turn comes.

Additionally, he underscored the significance of utilizing constitutional avenues, such as seeking redress in court, for those who disagree with election outcomes.

This, he argued, is a key reason why democracy remains the most exceptional form of governance devised by mankind.

InsideOjodu recalls that the Department of State Service (DSS) recently reported that it had verified a severe threat made by some individuals to sabotage the democratic process by establishing an interim national government.

Following a motion by Hon. Unyime Idem of the Ukanafun/Oruk Anam Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom State, entitled “An Urgent Need to Condemn the Call for Interim Government in Nigeria” that was made in the plenary, the House urged the parties who felt wronged by the results of the 2023 presidential elections to wait for the courts to resolve the matter before filing a lawsuit.

Presenting the motion under matters of urgent national importance, Idem said “The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, part 1, section 132, allows for change of leadership through the ballots.

“The constitution allows for a four-year tenure of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria after each election cycle.

“Interim government is undemocratic, unconstitutional, and unknown to our laws as a court of competent jurisdiction had in time past so declare.

“On Wednesday, March 29, 2023, the State Security Service issued a warning on some individuals who are allegedly plotting to install an interim Government in Nigeria.

The apex student body said that it will hold a town hall meeting with the presidential contenders in Abuja, following which one of them would be endorsed.

The organisation claimed it wasn’t looking for donations from any candidates, only the ideal one who had the skills and motivation to address the issues plaguing the nation’s education system.

In an interview on Monday, Giwa Temitope, the NANS national publicity officer, revealed this, according to The Punch.

He said, “We all know that NANS is the apex body of all student organisation in Nigeria both home and abroad. In view of the forthcoming presidential election, NANS is set to endorse its candidate after a proper consultation with all Students Union Presidents, indigenous associations, Joint Campus Committees of the students’ body, and the Diasporan student leaders.

“Recall that a committee was set up last year to interface with all the presidential candidates; the APC, PDP, Labour Party and the others. We have reached a conclusion and we will be having a town hall meeting on Thursday and we have already invited all the candidates to have an interactive session with them to know who has our love at heart, has the desire to fix the education sector, health sector and all sectors in Nigeria that is not working at the moment.

“After the interaction with the candidates, we will be endorsing the candidate that we believe will take Nigeria to a greater height.

Speaking further, the NANS spokesman said, “Any other endorsement by anyone using the name of student association is fake, null and void. Anyone who endorses any candidate in the name of NANS on or before February 23 is fraudulent and should be arrested.

“We don’t need any candidate’s money; we need a candidate who will love the masses and make a great difference.”

The advisory issued by the US Embassy in Nigeria advised its citizens to avoid large crowds and protests before, during and after the elections slated to commence from Saturday, February 25.

In a security update on its website, the embassy advised its citizens to avoid rallies as “they can turn violent with little or no notice”.

The update, titled “Security Alert – Possible Protests Leading to Elections and Restricted Movements on Election Days” also told US citizens to have three days of food and water at home in case movement restrictions are extended beyond election days.

“Nigerian national elections are scheduled for February 25, 2023, and gubernatorial elections are scheduled for March 11, 2023. The government of Nigeria will restrict the movement of all personal vehicles on election days across the country. Information from the Government of Nigeria indicates that only law enforcement personnel and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)-accredited election observers will be allowed to move freely along the roads,” the update reads.

“Based on past election practice, we anticipate personal vehicles will be blocked from any and all attempted road movement from 00:00 until 18:00 February 25 and 00:00 until 18:00 March 11. Please be advised that movement restrictions may be extended at any time.  Be alert to the government of Nigeria information about the restrictions.

“Rallies and demonstrations are commonplace before and after elections.  U.S. citizens should avoid any of these types of events, as they can turn violent with little or no notice.

“Actions to take: have three days of food and water in your residence in case movement restrictions are extended beyond election day, have a pre-packed bag that contains your travel documents, medications, toiletries, cash, and clothes in case you need to relocate from your residence, avoid large crowds, be aware of your surroundings, keep a low profile and carry proper identification.”

The electoral body through its National Commissioner for Osun, Ondo and Ogun states, Prof Kunle Ajayi stated at a stakeholders meeting on Thursday in Osogbo.

Ajayi revealed that all the materials to be used for the election are ready except for the sensitive materials which according to him, are in the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria and will be made available hours before the election.

The INEC commissioner enjoined all stakeholders to sensitise members of the public to adhere to the electoral procedures during the election process to ensure a successful election.

In his address, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for Osun State, Dr Mutiu Agboke, said that the 3,763 polling units, 332 wards and 30 local government areas in Osun State have been mapped towards the election.

Agboke also explained that 1,954,800 accredited voters have been recorded.

He added that 16,174 adhoc staff, which included, presiding officers, assistant presiding officers, collation and returning officers have been trained to ensure a smooth electoral process.

He also stressed that people with disabilities, pregnant women and nursing mothers will be promptly attended to.

He warned the electorate not to be involved in any electoral malpractice as this will automatically result in jail term for anyone found guilty.

The Osun State Commissioner of Police, Patrick Kehinde Longe advised the stakeholders to read and master electoral laws as ignorance would not be accepted as an excuse for any crime committed.

The director of the National Youth Service Corp in the state, Abdulwahab Olayinka, appealed to all stakeholders to allow trained corps members to do their job without fear or intimidation.

This decision comes less than 12 days before the general election.

Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of INEC, said this while speaking to political parties on Monday.

Yakubu claimed that due to security concerns, no voters expressed a desire to move to those polling places during the last Continuous Voter Registration.  As a result, there are currently 176,606 polling places available for use in the elections.

He said the Commission would compile a detailed list of these voting locations.

The association, however, asserted that the Commission has no justification for failing to complete the task.

Additionally, the top Christian organization urged the security services to carry out their duties impartially and neutrally, particularly during the next parliamentary elections.

In a statement, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, president of the CAN, urged Nigerians to thwart any attempts to sow discord and disaffection prior to, during, and after the elections.

A circular to that effect was signed by the Deputy Executive Secretary, Dr Chris Mayaki and sent to all vice-chancellors.

The NUC in the circular noted that the directive was based on the directive of the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu.

“As Vice-Chancellors of all Universities and Director/Chief Executive of Inter-University Centres are quite aware the 2023 General Elections have been scheduled to hold on Saturday, February 25, 2023, for the Presidential and National Assembly, and Saturday, March 11, 2023, for Gubernatorial and State Assembly, respectively.

“In view of the foregoing and concerns expressed on the security of staff, students and properties of our respective institutions, the Honourable Minister of Education, Mal. Adama Adamu has following extensive consultations with the relevant security agencies, directed that all Universities and Inter-University Centres be shut down and academic activities be suspended between February 22 and March 14, 2023.

“Consequently, Vice-Chancellors and chief executives of inter-university centres, are by this Circular requested to shut down their respective Institutions from Wednesday 22nd February 2023 to Tuesday 14th March 2023.

“Please, accept the renewed assurances of the Executive Secretary ‘s highest regard for your understanding and unwavering cooperation”, the letter from the NUC read.

The general elections are in risk being delayed because of the ongoing crisis brought on by the lack of new naira notes and fuel, which is why Obasanjo made his comment.

The former president gave a speech as he welcomed the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to his penthouse apartment inside the grounds of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The ADC national leaders were led by their Chairman, Dr. Mani Ibrahim Ahmed; the National Chairman of the party, Prof. Ralph Nwosu and a former presidential aspirant of the ADC, Chukwuka Monye.

According to Obasanjo, Nigeria is in an interesting period, urging Nigerians to take the elections with all the seriousness it deserves as being done in developed nations.

The Balogun Owu charged Nigerians to strive towards giving their best to ensure the general elections hold.

Stating that the attention of the global community is now focused on the 2023 polls in Nigeria, he charged Nigerians, as main stakeholders to contribute towards the success of the elections.

“We are in an interesting period in Nigeria. In less than three weeks, we will be going to the polls; well, I hope nothing will intervene against that. In less than three weeks, we will be electing a leader that will pilot the affairs of Nigeria for the next four years from May.

“I have been in Togo, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire from the beginning of the week; and they are as concerned about what happens in Nigeria as every Nigerian should be.

The agreements were made at a meeting between the representatives of Meta and Google and the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

The Federal Government on Friday in Abuja sealed agreements with tech giants, Meta and Google on the protection of the integrity of the forthcoming general elections.

The agreements were reached at a meeting between the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and representatives of Meta and Google.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Meta is the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp while Google owns YouTube, G-mail and Google Search.

At the meeting which was at the instance of the minister, the tech giants agreed to comply with four demands by the federal government.

The tech giants agreed to work with the government in flagging and bringing down posts that constituted fake news and disinformation in their platforms.

They also agreed to work with the security agencies to bring down posts capable of inciting violence before, during and after the elections.

It was also agreed that election results not originating from official sources, should be flagged as unverified by the tech giants’ platforms.

They also agreed to make posts from official channels, like the Ministry of Information and Culture, Independent National Electoral Commission, National Orientation Agency, etc., prominent on their platforms.

Earlier, the minister underscored the importance of the elections to the country and the assurance by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), to the nation and the international community on a free, fair, credible and peaceful polls.

He also noted that the use of social media was a critical factor in the national elections of countries, including Nigeria with a predominantly youthful population.

Mohammed, however, expressed concern that 22 days before the elections, there has been a noticeable increase in the use of fake news and disinformation on social media platforms.

He said the purveyors of fake news and disinformation were those bent on hindering the success of the elections and throwing the nation into crisis.

The minister said: “There has been a gross abuse of social media platforms to purvey fake news and disinformation ahead of the elections.

“These unscrupulous people are resorting to the use of parody accounts, cloning of reputable media platforms and the use of deep fakes to carry out their nefarious activities.

“For example, candidates’ campaign speeches are doctored to portray them in bad light, video clips and pictures of campaign rallies are tampered with to make them look poorly attended.

“Fake or unscientific opinion polls are concocted, while threats of violence in certain parts of the country are exaggerated.

“All of these are then circulated via social media to a wide audience, with the aim of making their target candidates look bad, influencing public perception or even suppressing votes in certain areas.

“We have therefore invited you, platform owners, here so we can work together to reduce these negative tendencies before, during and after the forthcoming elections.”

The Head, Public Policy (Anglophone West Africa) at Meta, Adaora Ikenze, thanked the minister for initiating the meeting and assured that the requests by the federal government would be heeded.

She said that Meta had set up the Election Protection Operating Centre which worked 24 hours with relevant stakeholders to ensure the integrity of the polls.

Ikenze added that they partnered with Independent National Electoral Commission and Civil Society Groups, to provide information on the polls and as well engaged facts checkers to flag unwholesome and fake content.

Speaking in the same vein, the Policy and Government Affairs Lead at Google Dawn Dimowo, assured that they would follow up with the government team, so that they could flag any content escalated to be problematic.

Dimowo said they had a process to direct users of their platforms to authentic election result channels.

She assured that any unverified sources that post the results of the elections would be brought down.