The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Ooni gives Obaseki’s govt pass mark

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, has endorsed the administration of Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki. He urged the governor to remain focused on his quest for sustainable development in the state.

    The monarch, who spoke when he visited the Government House in Benin, said the governor deserved support to continue in his transformative work.

    He said: “I am here to associate myself with you for all the good you are doing, and to let you know that we are watching. You have combined your experiences from the private sector with the public sector to take the state to greater heights. You are one of the greatest financial engineers the country has produced as your success is there for all to see in the private sector.

    “I am sure you are applying the same principles in the public sector because the people need you to put up a good legacy that posterity will always remember you for…”

    Read Also: Obaseki inaugurates 35-man team for Edo’s 30-year devt plan

    Obaseki thanked the Ooni and his entourage for the visit, saying the ruler remained one of the nation’s progressive traditional leaders.

    According to him, there was a symbiotic relationship between the political and traditional institutions.

    Governor Obaseki thanked the monarch for his role in peacekeeping, saying: “You have been a bridge-builder and transverse the length and breadth of this country, getting people to believe in this country.”

    Earlier, Obaseki and the Ooni joined other dignitaries to celebrate the Esama of Benin, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion’s 85th birthday.

  • Omoworare greets President Buhari

    The Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Babajide Omoworare, has congratulated the President and the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the President’s victory at the election petition tribunal.

    Omoworare praised the Judiciary for upholding the truth and affirming the mandate given to the President and the APC by Nigerians.

    The SSA described the judgment as triumph of truth and victory for democracy.

    Read Also: Buhari’s victory: SANs hail Tribunal’s verdict

    “The unanimous verdict of the panel did not come as a surprise. The people gave their ballots to the President with enthusiasm as a man they have confidence in to rework Nigeria for all. I thank the judges for upholding the truth and judging conscientiously,” he said.

    The SSA urged Nigerians to give more support to President Buhari and the APC administration in the drive to make Nigeria work for Nigerians by meeting the yearnings and aspirations of all and sundry.

  • Akpabio loses to Ekpenyong in Akwa Ibom Northwest

    The Akwa Ibom National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal on Wednesday night dismissed the petition filed by Senator Godswill Akpabio of the All Progressives Congress (APC) challenging the election of Senator Chris Ekpenyong of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to represent Akwa Ibom Northwest.

    Ekpenyong’s victory as winner of the February 23 election elicited some drama and confusion among supporters of Akpabio, now Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.

    One of the judges on the three-man panel,Justice Sheriff Hafizu, had upheld Akpabio’s petition and announced the nullification of the victory of Dr Chris Ekpenyong as the senator representing Akwa Ibom Northwest (Ikot Ekpene).

    Contrary to the judgment of the other two judges, Justice S. H. Tahir, whose ruling was delivered at 11.45 p.m, said the petitioners – Senator Akpabio and the APC – had no need to present polling unit agents to prove their victory since they were not challenging what transpired at the units.

    Justice Tahir also said the power to cancel illegal votes was not in the hands of the Returning Officer but in the hands of polling unit officers.

    Read Also: Akpabio, APC didn’t prepare for polls, tribunal – PDP

    He urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to retrieve the Certificate of Return from Ekpenyong and surrender it to Akpabio as the elected senator of the district.

    But in the majority ruling, read by its Chairman, Justice W. O. Akanbi, the tribunal held that the petitioners failed to bring any witness from the polling units and thus could not prove substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

    “Every reasonable person should support free, fair and credible election. The Returning Officer cannot be blamed for reporting what he saw to INEC,” he said.

    Relying on a case, ANDREW v. INEC, the tribunal ruled that the burden of proof for proving substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act to ground a nullification of the election is on the petitioner and held that the petitioner’s evidence was too weak in all ramifications to prove non-compliance, not to mention substantial non-compliance, the only ground for nullification of the elections.

    In the majority verdict, the two justices dismissed the petition and upheld the declaration of Senator Ekpenyong as the winner of the February 23 poll.

    “The petition is hereby dismissed because they have not been able to prove noncompliance at all,” the tribunal declared.

    Reacting to the verdict through his counsel Samuel Ikpo, Senator Ekpeyong said: “The judgment has buried the petition that was long dead and dead for eternity.”

    But Akpabio’s lawyer Adekunle Oyesanya said he was disappointed that the majority decision did not favour him.

    The lawyer maintained that after studying the judgment with his clients, he will appeal the decision.

    Also, a member of the tribunal, Justice Sheriff Hafizu, has said Akpabio was robbed of his deserved victory.

    According to him, there was a preponderance of evidence to prove that the senator, now Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, defeated his opponent, Chris Ekpenyong, in the election for Akwa Ibom Northwest.

    Justice Hafizu, in a split judgment on September 11, held that it was his view that Akpabio overwhelmingly won the election and ought to have been returned as the duly elected senator for the district.

    Akpabio had cited unlawful cancellation of his collated votes by INEC to give his opponent an edge in the election.

    In his dissenting judgment, Justice Hafizu held that the contention of the respondents that Akpabio ought to have called unit polling agents to prove his case was wrong since the APC candidate had not challenged the results of the units.

    He said there was nothing to prove in the matter.

    According to him, Akpabio’s case centred on cancellation of duly collated votes at INEC office, which he said was beyond the units.

    He cited the case of Dr William, who had admitted during trial that Akpabio’s votes were altered in INEC office in Uyo on the instructions of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr Mike Igini, adding that such alterations were unlawful.

    He said he found merit in the petitioner’s case that his collated votes, which showed that he won the election, were surreptitiously and unilaterally cancelled by an INEC official to hand victory to Ekpenyong.

    Justice Hafizu said INEC was wrong to have cancelled the 61,329 votes garnered by APC in Essien Udim Local Government Area against PDP’s 9,050 votes.

    He said the “unlawful” cancellation of the votes was a clear case of robbery since it did not follow due process of INEC’s guidelines.

  • Buhari: ‘Victory not unexpected’

    The judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal upholding the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari was expected, the President’s Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Social Investment Programmes, Ismaeel Ahmed, has said.

    Ahmed, a member of the APC Board of Trustees (BoT) and a Director in the 2019 Buhari Presidential Campaign Council, noted that a genuine electoral mandate was given to President Buhari and Prof. Yemi Osinbajo in the February 23 poll.

    He said it reflected the mood and political reality in the country.

    Read Also: Buhari, APC women leaders meet in Aso Rock

    The Kano-born politician noted that from onset, it was obvious that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) did not have any strong point to back its claims.

    “A genuine electoral mandate was given to us in February, which truly reflected the mood and political reality in the country. We didn’t win in any state that we didn’t have a strong wind going into the elections.

    “As a matter of fact, we lost in states that we could have won, if we were to do what PDP was used to doing during elections. We wouldn’t have lost Abuja, or Oyo or Imo or Edo, where we had APC governors and a Federal Government.

    “This was an extremely fair contest with results that reflected the mood of the country at the time and we won squarely, as the courts have affirmed today. No one in this country can contest President Buhari’s appeal and popular support.

    “Many Nigerians do not just love President Buhari because he is loveable, but they cherish the qualities and charisma he brings to the table. He is a man of determination. He has an unassailable public profile that speaks humility and integrity. He is focused and has Nigeria’s interests at heart.”

     

  • Don’t go to Supreme Court, AA candidate tells Atiku

    Action Alliance (AA) governorship candidate in the last election in Imo State, Chief Uche Nwosu, has urged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to accept the verdict of the Election Petition Tribunal as an act of God.

    He advised them not to challenge it at the Supreme Court.

    In a statement in Abuja, the nation’s capital, Nwosu said the judgment was clear on all sides.

    He said it would be an effort in futility to contest the verdict at the apex court.

    Nwosu told former Vice-President Abubakar that all the motions he filed at the tribunal were dismissed, adding that everybody should join hands with the President to deliver dividends of democracy to Nigerians.

    Read Also: Apologise to Nigerians, FG tells Atiku, PDP

    He said: “If I were to advise, I would say the PDP and its presidential candidate should not go to Supreme Court because there is a judgment you see and you just let go and support the President so that Nigeria will move forward.

    “The best thing the PDP would do is to allow President Buhari to continue undistracted so he can deliver the dividends of democracy to Nigerians.

    “You can see clearly that the judgment has shown that President Buhari won the 2019 presidential election clearly.

    “The issue of President Buhari not having certificates was dismissed, just as the issue of security agencies helping him to win the election. Almost all the motions brought by the PDP and its presidential candidate were dismissed. What it means is that it was a free and fair election.

    “Remember President Buhari is somebody who does not believe in rigging an election. He said it before the election that if he should lose, he would go back to Daura – his home town in Katsina State – and that if he should win, he would continue. The people didn’t believe, but on the day of election, you saw that PDP won many states and many National Assembly seats.

    “President Buhari believes in democracy and rule of law. So, we, who believe in him and are supporting him, are happy. I want the PDP presidential candidate to support President Buhari so he can concentrate on governance.”

  • Abia APC chair lauds verdict

    The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State, Mr Donatus Nwankpa, has hailed Wednesday’s victory of President Muhammadu Buhari against his challenger, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal which sat in Abuja.

    Nwankpa, who spoke with our reporter on Thursday, described the ruling of the tribunal as a landmark.

    The APC chieftain noted that the judgment was the most painstaking ruling ever given by Nigerian judges.

    Contrary to insinuations that the PDP’s presidential candidate has chances of getting favourable judgment at the Supreme Court, Nwankpa insisted that Atiku only has the right to appeal the judgment.

    Read Also: AbdulRazaq hails Buhari’s victory

    The APC chieftain said the PDP candidate would not succeed because the tribunal judges took their time to do a thorough job.

    “When we talk about change, it has to be fundamental. What happened on Wednesday was a proof of that change,” he said.

    Nwankpa urged the President to relax and focus on taking the country to the Next Level.

    “You cannot stop an ambitious man from going to appeal. Atiku will commit no crime if he goes to Appeal Court. But I will also want him to take cognisance of the people’s feelings and the realities of the facts of the ruling.”

  • AbdulRazaq hails Buhari’s victory

    Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari on his victory at the Election Petition Tribunal.

    “Given the unprecedented margin of victory that Mr. President recorded in our state, Kwara, and the very glaring acceptability of his candidature across the country, I have always known that any legal challenge to his victory was just an academic exercise because the people have spoken clearly.

    “Without prejudice to the right of the opposition to seek redress as they did, the judgment of the presidential election tribunal only affirmed the position of the people of Nigeria who appreciate the discipline, integrity, patriotism, and commitment of Mr. President to a better Nigeria,” he said.

    Read Also: Lawmaker congratulates Buhari, APC over victory

    In a statement in Ilorin, the state capital, by his spokesperson Rafiu Ajakaye, the governor said the tribunal’s judgment was a victory for the ordinary Nigerian who stood for many hours on the queue to cast their ballot in the election.

    AbdulRazaq also lauded the erudition of the President’s legal team, saying they remained focus “even in the face of everyday propaganda by the opposition”.

    He urged Nigerians to rally round the President to deliver more dividends of democracy.

  • Lamentations from South Africa

    They are back, but with tales of woe. KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR reports the ordeal of Nigerians who landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on Wednesday, following xenophobic attacks in South Africa

    After 12 hours of flight delay at OR Oliver Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa,  187 Nigerians returned to their country of birth on Wednesday with tales of lamentation.

    They were victims of xenophobic attacks in the former Apartheid nation.

    Pre-flight ordeal

    Sequel to a presidential directive that all Nigerians in South Africa return home, Nigerian authorities in Johannesburg had begun documentation of the affected nationals preparatory to their return home. The process of their return had been accelerated by the gesture of an indigenous carrier Air Peace, which deployed its Boeing 777 aircraft for the evacuation.

    As the aircraft arrived in South Africa in the early hours of Wednesday, over 320 Nigerians set for the trip were subjected to new waves of security checks by Immigration authorities requiring them to carry out fresh biometric and other humiliating procedures before the six-hour flight turned to out to be 15 hours delay.

    Tears cascaded their cheeks as they came to terms with the reality that they were abruptly coming home unprepared, and could hardly pick up their valuables.

    As the aircraft landed, Air Peace cabin crew carried some placards with the inscription “Say No to Xenophobia”.

    As the aircraft landed at exactly 9.32pm, the returnees were in high spirits, praising the airline, the Nigerian government and the Nigerian Consul-General for the great efforts made to evacuate them from SA. Some of them in an interview, told journalists that the South Africans were fierce in their attacks against Nigerians, going from house to house, shop to shop, looting and burning whatever they saw as belonging to Nigerians.

    Julian Anthony from Edo State who said he was into media production and had been there for seven years, said, “It was terrible, my brother, we barely escaped with our lives, we were all scared, they go from home to home looking for Nigerians. The apartheid in South Africa is still there.”

    Another returnee Onuoha Chizoba from Abia State who also had been there for  seven years for pastoral work, said, “We were uncomfortable and felt that the best thing we had to do was to return home; some Nigerians are still there for reasons best known to them”.

    “They are killing my people, yesterday another Nigerian died, they tell social media that Nigerians did not die, it is a lie, they are killing Nigerians, they keep them in the mortuary, some died in the bush”

    “They locked up shops and burned all the cars inside, wickedness; they came together, they started breaking the shops, burning the shops, stealing things.”

    On getting to the venue for profiling by officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service and during an address by the representative of the Federal Government, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the returnees started singing the Nigerian National Anthem to express their gratitude for their safety.

    Corroborating the account of some returnees, Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa said the SA Immigration tried to stop Nigerians from leaving by frustrating the airlift.

    “They were trying to stop the airlift from happening but it has happened and we are happy that Nigerians are back home and so out of 317, Air Peace was able to do 187 and we are glad they are back and President Buhari has ordered that any Nigerians that wants to come back should do so voluntarily.”

  • Davido officially engages Chioma

    Exactly ten days after their introduction ceremony, music superstar David

    Adeleke best known has Davido Officially proposed to his long term lover, Chioma Rowlands.

    The ‘assurance’ crooner took to his Instagram page to share a photo and video on the wonderful moment to his fans and captioned it: “She said Yes! Big rock, #Assurance2020”.

    It was gathered that the singer took his lover out on a dinner date in a restaurant in London on Thursday September where he made the proposal.

    To confirm the singer’s proposal, the assurance Queen responded to Davido’s post on Instagram.

    “I love you @davidoofficial.  You didn’t even let me wax yet,” she posted

    Read Also: Nine things you should know about Davido’s girlfriend Chioma

    However, Davido already has two daughters, Imade and Hailey from two different ‘baby mamas’.

    There is also speculation that Chioma is pregnant for him.

    Davido officially unveiled his relationship with Chioma in 2018 when he gave her a Porsche car worth about N23million for her 23rd birthday.

    Ever since, the two have become an item to always look out for in the entertainment scene and public sphere.

    Also, Davido featured Chioma on a track in his upcoming album titled ‘A Good Time’ Which will serve as a follow up to ‘Omo Baba Olowo’ which was released in 2012.

    According to the superstar, the new album titled ‘A Good Time’ will be released in October 2019.

  • Wounded by Boko Haram, abandoned by army

    With a hand on his head and the other resting on his amputated left leg, Sergeant Kenneth Dibie shook his head as he lamented the fate that has befallen him. He sobbed as he explained the hopelessness he has felt since his leg was cut off on Tuesday with warnings from doctors that he must deposit N800,000 for treatments within a week or risk losing his second leg to an infection that had feasted on his system after sustaining spinal cord and mine injuries in battle against Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State on July 12, 2017.

    At the orthopaedic ward of 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Yaba, Mainland Lagos which has been his abode for over a year, Dibie, a native of Edo State could be heard saying: “I fought Boko Haram. I fought with all my strength, with loyalty and with patriotism. I fought those terrorists as if I was fighting to protect my immediate family. But see where I am, abandoned to my fate in the hospital. I am in pain, I feel defeated and hopeless. I have spent all my savings to treat myself and yet, there is no hope.

    “Where do I get N800,000 to deposit so that I can be treated and my remaining leg saved? I am sad, I am in pain. I have lost appetite and it seems the army does not know I exist or the authorities just don’t care what happens to me.”

    Dibie (94NA/38/1895) said their patrol vehicle ran into a Boko Haram land mine at Burugaga in Borno State on July 12, 2017, which killed all occupants save him.

    “I was deployed to Northeast in 2015 and was there fighting terrorists until this incident happened to me. It was on July 12, 2017 while we were on patrol and preparing for an attack at Burugaga. We walked into ambush. We did not know that the terrorists have laid mines everywhere.

    Read Also: Boko Haram: Centre rubbishes Human Rights Watch report, raises three unanswered question

    “The place is a desert and there is no one distinct road. Our vehicle was first and we were nine inside. The vehicle upturned and shattered together with the other soldiers. The debris of the scattered vehicle fell on me and pressed me to the ground.

    “I was under the debris for about five minutes screaming for help. At first, the other patrol vehicles behind did not know someone was underneath until they heard me screaming for help and they lifted the debris. The vehicle was not Mine Resistant. It was a soft skin vehicle,” he said.

    He was rushed to hospital.

    “I was diagnosed of complete traumatic T12 paraplegia, posterior decompression of the thoraco-lumbar Segment T11, T12 and L1 of the spine as well as stabilisation with pedicle screw and rod. I was later referred to National Orthopaedic Hospital Igbobi, Lagos on account of proximity to home. But due to financial constraints, I was moved to the 68NARH Yaba where I continued physiotherapy until the session was suspended as a result of bed sores.

    “I have been in this hospital for over a year. My health has degenerated. The doctor said the issue might have affected my kidney. I have spent over N5million since this accident. I have been paying my medical bills myself.

    “I paid about N500,000 for the surgery on Tuesday. It was on Tuesday they cut off this leg and now I have been told to deposit N800,000 for treatment so that the other leg can be saved but I do not have the money.

    “I am desperate. I do not want my  other leg to be cut off. I am appealing to the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), my state Governor Godwin Obaseki and all Nigerians in general to come to my rescue.

    “I sent a letter in November 2018 to the Chief of Administration and the COAS through the Commanding Officer 353 Artillery Regiment,  Commander 35 Artillery Brigade and Commander Corps of Artillery but I have not gotten any response.”

    “I am making a passionate appeal to Nigerians to save me from this situation. I do not have any other hope.”

    Spokesman for the army Sagir Musa, a colonel, denied wounded soldiers were abandoned to their fate by the army, asking our reporter to bring copies of the receipt to his office in Abuja for investigation.

    He said: “Do you believe a soldier in military hospital will pay his medical bills? If you want to do complete investigation, I will urge you to come to my office with the receipts so I will take you to the appropriate office for findings.”